The Tiger and the Cheetah
by aznboi85
Summary: This is a Power Rangers Jungle Fury fic done in response to the Ars Amatoria Romance Theme Challenge. These drabbles explore the budding relationship between Casey and Lily. This will eventually contain 40 drabbles with a slight possibility of 60 drabbles
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury, nor am I making any profit by writing this.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Confidence_

(Lily's POV)

"Jarrod, Lily, Theo. Join us in the great hall this evening," Master Mao announced.

A gong was rung signaling the end of our final test.

"Yes!" I exclaimed as Theo and I gave each other a congratulatory high five. We had been students for a long time, and it was nice to know that all of our hard work had paid off.

"Where's my towel? Cub, go get me a towel. Move it! That's a direct order from a senior student," Jarrod shouted knocking over a basket of towels.

The cub cowered before the much older, much taller bully that was Jarrod. However, he remained rooted in place. My guess is that the poor cub was so scared out of his wits that his feet were failing him at the moment.

"Here's a towel," said another cub that appeared to be around my age.

Jarrod reluctantly took the towel all the while glaring daggers at the older cub for sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

"Look, I don't want any problems," said the taller cub.

"Too bad," Jarrod replied roughly shoving the cub to the ground.

All of my instincts told me not to watch anymore because this would probably turn out no differently than every other time that Jarrod picked on a cub. Try as I might, I couldn't pry my eyes away from the scene that was unfolding before my very eyes. Much to my surprise, the cub looked poised to retaliate against Jarrod.

"Oh! Is little cub gonna do something?" Jarrod asked amused.

The cub roared and Jarrod was sent sailing through the air courtesy of some kind of burst of energy that emanated from the cub. Strangely enough, it was eerily reminiscent of a tiger animal spirit.

"What did I just do?" the cub asked looking at his hands in disbelief. "I'm sorry! I don't know what happened."

Just as Jarrod was about to respond in kind, Master Mao clapped his hands. Jarrod bowed his head and walked away looking rather ticked off.

I was both surprised and impressed by this cub that stood up to Jarrod. It was more than that though. There was something about this cub that drew me to him, but for the life of me, I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Up until now, I had never even seen this cub before. I didn't even know what his name was. One thing I did know though was that nobody _ever_ stood up to Jarrod. They just let themselves or others get bullied around by him. The fact that this cub had stood up to Jarrod told a great deal about his character. Call it guts. Call it confidence. This cub sure had an abundance of it. I had a feeling that I would be seeing a lot more of this cub in the not-too-distant future, and I'm not so sure that would be a bad thing. As a matter of fact, I found myself looking forward to it.

TBC

**A/N: I know it's still early in the season, but I couldn't help myself. I see Theo and Lily as best friends, but nothing more than that. At any rate, I hope you liked this. Please R&R. No flames.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making any profit by writing this.**

**A/N: This takes place after Welcome to the Jungle Part II, but before Sigh of the Tiger. Oh, and I forgot to mention that the first chapter took place during Welcome to the Jungle Part I, but if you've been watching this season, you knew that, so I'm not telling you anything you didn't already know.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Reaction_

(excerpt from Theo's journal)

Casey's not bad for a cub. I mean he's one heck of a quick study. Plus, I hate to admit it, but he has a ton of potential. However, there is something that I need to get off my chest. I really don't like how he has become such an integral part of my life and Lily's life as well. Lily is my best friend. She and I started our training under Master Mao at the same time. It's always been just the two of us. Now, it's the two of us—and Casey.

When I said that Casey was all thumbs when it came to his weapon—the nunchaku—Lily defended Casey! What would possess her to do such a thing?! She doesn't even know the guy! I don't even know the guy! She told me to "give him a break." Give him a break?! Casey's supposed to be our leader, which don't even get me started with how ridiculous it is that we have to take orders from a cub. I should be the red ranger, not Casey!

Now, where was I? Oh yeah, basically I feel like Casey is invading _my _territory. I can already tell that Lily has taken a liking to him. I'm just concerned that the closer Casey and Lily get, the further apart Lily and I will become. Then there's the way she calls out his name when he gets hurt in battle. She sounds more concerned about Casey when he gets hurt in battle than when I get hurt in battle. You would think it'd be the other way around considering how I've known her longer.

Oh, and get this: Lily said that I have control issues. I do not have control issues! Sure, I don't like surprises. Sure I like to always know what's going on. Sure I like to always know why whatever is going on is going on, but I think it's a bit of a stretch to say I have control issues. Lily would probably say that's why I'm weary of Casey in the first place. The addition of him into my life was something unexpected, a surprise if you will. Like I said before, I hate surprises.

Supposedly, I'm the brains of our new little trio, and Casey is the strength. I'm strong too! Just because I'm small, doesn't mean I'm weak! In fact, if Casey and I were to face each other one-on-one, I bet I'd wipe the floor with him. Jarrod probably would've kicked Casey's butt too. It's just that Casey caught Jarrod by surprise. That has to be the only logical explanation. I mean there's no other way a senior student could get shown up by a cub.

Come to think of it, RJ has yet to tell us what the sleeping arrangements will be. All I know is I better not get put in the same room as Casey. I can barely tolerate him as it is, and even that is only for the sake of the team. There's absolutely no way I'm going to get chummy with Casey. There's room in my life for only one best friend, and that is and always has been Lily.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Personally, I'm not entirely happy with how this chapter turned out, but I'll submit it anyway and see what people think. So I wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone who put this story on their story alert list, on their favorite story list, me on their favorite author list, and all that other good stuff. You quite possibly just made my day, so thank you! I hope you'll leave me a review. Flames aren't welcome. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making any profit whatsoever by writing this.**

**A/N: This takes place in the episode Sigh of the Tiger during the first battle with Buffalord.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Fight_

(Casey's POV)

As I propped myself up against a pillar trying to shake the cobwebs out of my head, one thought raced through my mind—maybe I'm not cut out to be the red ranger. Ever since Master Mao selected me to be Jarrod's replacement, I knew that I had my work cut out for me. As time went on, it became all too apparent that I was the weakest link. I've been getting my tiger tail kicked all over Ocean Bluff. First, when Lily and I were training with RJ, we couldn't even beat him _blindfolded_. Even though RJ is our new master, he couldn't see, so Lily and I should have had the advantage. Of course, I didn't make much of a partner. If Lily had Theo for a partner, she probably would have been able to beat RJ, but she had me as a partner, and that is why it was a losing effort. Then, I was defeated by Camille. If I wasn't so useless, she wouldn't have gotten away. Lastly, I get demolished by Buffalord leaving my teammates to fend for themselves.

I asked RJ to train me, but instead he turned me into his personal servant. I was eager to learn, so I said I would do anything. Looking back, I have no idea why I foolishly said that. All that got me was a bunch of odd jobs. First, I had to rub RJ's shoulders like I was some sort of masseuse. Then, I had to fix his precious recliner. For the record, he knocked me into it, so it was really RJ that broke it, _not_ me. If those two tasks weren't bad enough, he made me wash his foul-smelling yoga mat. It reeked so bad, that I wouldn't be surprised if it was the first time it had ever been washed.

While Theo struck me as one of those slow-to-warm-up types, Lily welcomed me to the team with open arms. I get the feeling that Theo doesn't quite trust me yet or for that matter doesn't quite know how to act around me. Lily, on the other hand, has been nothing but kind to me.

My thoughts were brought back to the here and now as I watched as Lily was now taking on Buffalord. Lily is the heart of our team. For such a fun-loving, lively girl, she sure is one heck of a fighter. There is a fluidity and grace to every punch and kick she throws. She makes it look so effortless. I am in complete and utter awe of her. I wish I had even half of her fighting prowess. As red ranger though, half of her fighting prowess isn't nearly enough. I need to be just as skilled if not more skilled than Lily. I'm supposed to be the leader of the team. How can I lead anyone when I can't even hold my own in a battle?

"Cheetah Jabs!" Lily shouted sending Buffalord flying backwards as a result of the impact.

"Whoa! Lily's amazing! Awesome!" I commented out loud.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: First of all, I want to say sorry to all of you readers who are itching for some Casey/Lily romance like this very chapter. I personally am not fond of the whole all-of-a-sudden-they-fall-madly-in-love-with-one-another storyline. Therefore, their relationship will ****develop**** as the story progresses, so please bear with me. Once again, thank you to everyone who put this story on their favorite story list or story alert list. Thanks to everyone who put me down on their favorite author list. Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a review. You really have no idea how much that means to me. If you left me a review, you should get a reply from me. Let me know what you think by leaving a review. No flames though. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Power Rangers Jungle Fury belongs to Disney (I think). I am not making any profit by writing this.**

**A/N: This is based on the episode A Taste of Poison. I guess you can say that this is spoiler-ish for those of you who haven't seen the episode. Lily's dream is in **_**italics**_

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Dream_

(Lily's POV)

"_Okay, Jarrod, this is going to end here and now!" Casey exclaimed._

"_In your dreams!" Jarrod retorted._

_Casey made a beeline for the new and improved Dai Shi._

"_I call forth the spirit of the mighty lion!" Dai Shi said._

_The sheer ferocity of the lion animal spirit's attack resulted in Casey being hurled into the air._

"Casey!" I shouted sitting up in my bed to find that it was only a dream—or was it?

It certainly seemed real enough. As much as I kept telling myself over and over again that it was just a bad dream, I still didn't believe my own words.

My heart rate had drastically sped up, and I wouldn't be able to relax until I found out for myself one way or the other. With the speed of a cheetah, I raced to the living room portion of the loft where I knew Casey slept.

If it was nothing but a bad dream, I didn't want to know how it ended. If it actually happened, I didn't want to know how it ended. As I got closer and closer, I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I had absolutely no idea what to expect.

For some reason, the living room seemed a lot further away from my bed than I remembered. I arrived in the living room and saw Casey lying in his hammock, but was he dead or alive? It was hard to tell from this distance. As I got closer, much to my relief I saw the steady rise and fall of his chest. I looked him up and down and didn't detect any signs of injury.

I kept reminding myself that Casey was okay, yet my heart was still racing a mile a minute.

Dreams are supposed to be a part of our subconscious, so what was my dream trying to tell me? Was it trying to tell me that Casey is in danger? We were all in grave danger what with the five poisons and Jarrod having the powers of Dai Shi.

No, it had to be more than that. I've had dreams before, but this was the first time that I could ever recall having a bad dream. My adrenaline still hadn't worn off as was evident by my elevated heart rate. I took comfort in the fact that Casey was peacefully sleeping right here in front of me.

I was still racking my brain trying to figure out the meaning of my dream. Judging by the way I had darted out of my bed to check on Casey, it was almost like I was afraid of losing him. The image of Dai Shi sicking his lion animal spirit on Casey sending him sailing through the air was still fresh on my mind and haunted me.

I had so many unanswered questions. Why was I so afraid of losing Casey? What was this I was feeling? What had caused me to have to the best of my knowledge my first bad dream ever?

To Be Continued…

**A/N: This is what I wished would have happened in the episode. I truly appreciate all the support I have received from my reviewers. Feel free to leave me a review. No flames please.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making a profit by writing this.**

**A/N: This too is based off the episode A Taste of Poison. Now technically, this theme takes place after Fight (Chapter 3) but before Dream (Chapter 4). It's just I had the idea for Dream first, so I wrote it first.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Game_

(Casey's POV)

"Sometimes I just can't believe my life—shredding cheese one minute, shredding evil beasts the next," I commented while grating some cheese on a cheese grater.

Lily set down a bowl of pizza toppings on the table. "Hey, this whole thing came out of nowhere for you, Casey. It's got to be majorly intense, especially for a cub," she responded.

"Well, I'm not a cub anymore. You don't have to worry about me," I said.

The back door to one of the brick ovens opened, and Fran's head popped through. "One large Thrilla Gorilla pizza, extra banana," she announced.

I pointed to her and replied, "Thrilla Gorilla coming up."

Fran closed the oven door and went back to taking customers' orders.

"Bananas?" I asked finding that to be a strange choice of pizza topping.

"RJ says, 'Everything's better with bananas,'" Lily answered doing her best RJ impersonation. I got to say she does a pretty good RJ. She has it down from his Zen-like stance to his mannerisms to his voice.

"Where is RJ, anyway?" I inquired.

"No clue. He's been working on something in the garage for days. You get the board. I've got the dough," Lily said rolling the dough into a ball before tossing it into the air.

"Whoa," I said barely able to get a pizza board underneath the falling dough in the nick of time.

I started sprinkling some flour on the dough, and a mischievous idea came to mind. It was all too obvious. I had a hand full of flour. There Lily stood an unsuspecting victim. I threw some flour at her chest. I wasn't sure how she'd react, but I guess I was about to find out.

"Oops. My bad," I remarked trying my best to sound sorry.

"Oh, no, you didn't," Lily replied shaking her shirt.

She grabbed a mound of shredded cheese. This couldn't be good no matter how you sliced it.

"Lily. Now, wait. You're a reasonable person," I stated.

She took off my baseball cap with her free hand, and crumbled the shredded cheese over my head, rubbing some in my hair for good measure.

"Oh," I said laughing. I was game if she was, and if that cheese was any indication, she was game.

"Oops. My bad!" Lily retorted laughing.

"Oh, laugh it up, 'cause you are gonna be so sorry for that one," I said scooping up a heap of cut up bananas. _Extra bananas, huh?_ _Here are extra bananas for you, Lily._ I plopped them on the top of her baseball cap.

"Aw!" Lily exclaimed.

After a stare down, it turned into a free for all. We both started grabbing anything and everything that was on the table and throwing it at one another. No special preference was shown as pizza toppings, cheese, and flour was all used in our food fight.

I could tell that Lily was having fun. She was laughing practically the entire time. The sight of her flour covered face brought a smile to my face. If I didn't know any better, I would say Lily was flirting with me.

"Look at the kitchen! It's trashed," Theo shouted after walking in on us.

"He started it," Lily said pointing at me.

"Did not," I retorted.

"I don't care how it started. We've got hungry customers out there. Clean this place up. And, Casey, take whatever that is off your face," Theo said.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: I loved this scene. Did all of you Casey/Lily shippers out there love this episode as much as I did? Thanks to everyone for reviewing and all that jazz. Feel free to leave a review. Flames aren't welcome. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury, nor am I making any profit by writing this. Sound familiar?**

**A/N: Surprise, surprise. This is based off of the episode A Taste of Poison as well. So, if you haven't seen the episode yet, this may contain spoilers. Technically, this takes place after Game (Chapter 5) but before Dream (Chapter 4). For those of you keeping score at home, chronologically, the chapter order is Confidence (Chapter 1), Reaction (Chapter 2), Fight (Chapter 3), Game (Chapter 5), Closer (Chapter 6), then Dream (Chapter 4). **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Closer_

(Theo's POV)

I looked over and saw Lily place a damp towel on Casey's forehead. We were all concerned about Casey's well being, yes even me, but no one was more concerned about Casey than Lily. The two of them had gotten real close real fast, and that worried me.

"Thanks," Casey said in a hoarse voice before coughing. "I feel much better."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked.

I walked over to Casey's hammock. "He said he's fine. Leave the guy alone," I stated meaning that in more ways than one.

"Freaky that Jarrod turned out to be Dai Shi. But standing up to him sure took a lot of guts," RJ remarked.

"Or not a lot of brain cells," I added.

Casey and Lily both looked at me in disbelief.

"Theo, I'm ignoring your negative energy. Casey, I'm working on something new for you that you're just gonna love. You just power it up with your tiger spirit. It'll blow your mind," RJ said.

"Is it dangerous?" Lily asked concerned.

"Casey already has one mommy. He doesn't need two," I commented.

"You don't hear me complaining," Casey remarked straightening the towel on his forehead.

In my opinion, Casey was enjoying all the attention he was getting—particularly from Lily—a bit too much.

"Lights out, team. We're up against some major badness here. We all need some rest." RJ said before heading to bed.

Lily gave Casey's left shoulder a reassuring rub before heading off to bed herself. Sleep sounded good to me, so I left for my bed as well though not before snatching the damp towel off of Casey's forehead. After all, he said he felt better, so he really didn't need a damp towel anymore. Besides, to me it was just an annoying reminder of how close Lily and Casey now were.

I had a hunch that Casey and Lily both liked each other more than either was letting on, and I didn't like that one bit. My fears were starting to come true; Lily and I were starting to grow apart from one another. I found she was spending more and more time with Casey. Consequently, that also meant she was spending less and less time with me. I hated feeling like I was losing my best friend.

I sincerely hoped that my suspicions about Casey and Lily were wrong. The last thing Lily needed right now was to get involved in a relationship. For that matter, the last thing our team needed right now was to have two of its rangers get involved in a relationship. If that were to happen, and somehow Camille and Dai Shi got wind of it, then we would be at a disadvantage. They wouldn't hesitate to use Lily to get at Casey and vice versa.

Not only that, but if Casey and Lily were to become romantically involved with one another, where would that leave me? What role would I play in Lily's life? I prayed I would never have to find out.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Let me know what you think by leaving me a review. Constructive criticism is welcome, but flames aren't. Thank you for all the support I have received thus far. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Last I checked, I still don't own Power Rangers Jungle Fury, nor am I making any profit by writing this.**

**A/N: Three guesses what episode this is based off of. I'll give you a hint; it's the same episode the past three chapters have been based off of. For those of you who have yet to see A Taste of Poison, I have some good news for you; I saw that it was on YouTube, so you should check it out. This chapter takes place after Closer (Chapter 6). **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Why?_

"Hey, Lil. You planning on coming to work today or what?" Theo asked.

Casey and Theo scanned the loft, but didn't detect any signs of their teammate. However, Casey saw her engaged in a battle with Rantipede on one of the television monitors.

"Looks like she's already at work," Casey said.

Theo was soon standing beside Casey and saw exactly what he had meant by that last statement.

The two rangers exchanged glances with one another. No words were needed. They knew what needed to be done. They each grabbed a vine and swung out of the loft, morphing in the process.

"With the strength of a tiger—Jungle Fury, red ranger!"

"With the stealth of a jaguar—Jungle Fury, blue ranger!"

Casey and Theo ran to the beach as fast as their legs could carry them. Nobody said a word during the first part of the trek, but that was about to change.

"Why would Lily go off on her own like she did? What was she thinking?" Casey asked.

"I don't know for sure, but my guess is it's because of you," Theo said muttering the last part under his breath.

Casey stopped in his tracks, grabbed Theo by his shoulders, and spun him around so that they were face-to-face.

"Did I do something to upset you? You sound mad at me for some reason," Casey commented.

Out of nowhere, the blue ranger shoved the red ranger.

"Don't you _ever_ do that to me again!" Theo shouted.

"What's your problem?" Casey screamed back.

"_You_ are my problem, Casey!" Theo exclaimed.

Theo turned his back to Casey and stared at the ground. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"Lily better be all right, because if she's not, I'll never forgive you," Theo stated.

"Why would Lily getting hurt be my fault?" Casey asked.

The blue ranger let out a deep sigh before responding, "You really do have the foresight of a lemming."

"What? How did you—"

"Don't change the subject."

"I didn't!"

An awkward silence filled the air. Neither knew what to say to the other, yet this was the longest conversation the two had since they met each other.

"I think Lily has a crush on you and that's why she's fighting Rantipede on her own," Theo said.

"Okay. That answers one of my questions. So why are you mad at me?"

"I can tell that you and Lily are getting closer, but I feel like it's at my expense. She's my best friend, and it's like I'm losing her."

Once again a silence filled the air, only this time, it wasn't quite as uncomfortable as the last time.

"Why didn't you just tell Lily or me you felt this way? You know, it's not healthy to keep your feelings bottled up inside of you. I'll tell you what; I'll have a talk with RJ and see if he can't rearrange our schedules so that you have some time off with your best friend."

"Thanks. Whether or not Lily actually has a thing for you, just promise me that you won't go there with her."

"Theo—"

"Case!"

"Okay. I promise."

"Good. Now let's go help Lily."

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Aren't I cruel? For the record, this chapter was so much harder to write than any of the previous ones. Who knew 3****rd**** person POV would be such a pain in the neck? Maybe it's because the first six were in 1****st**** person POV. Got anything to say to me about my fic? Leave me a review. No flames please. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. If I did, it would come on every night not just once a week. I am not making a profit by writing this. **

**A/N; This is based on the episode A Taste of Poison, but it's the last one, I swear. Chronologically, it takes place after Why? (Chapter 7)**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Smile_

(Lily's POV)

I wrinkled my face in disgust as I grabbed a dirty glass and put it in the sink. As I looked at the mountain of dishes in front of me, I started to wonder if RJ didn't just dirty some himself to make my punishment worse. _We didn't have that many customers today, did we? _My thoughts were interrupted when Casey walked in.

"Whoa! Is the dishwasher broken?" Casey asked before grabbing a towel and drying the few dishes that I had already washed. _Aw, no one asked him to help me._

"Nope. RJ's orders. He thinks I need to learn a lesson for taking off on my own," I answered.

"Well, I'm flattered that you put yourself out there for me."

"Flattered?"

"Yeah. It's obvious you have a little thing for me."

"Casey!" I exclaimed as I felt my cheeks heat up. _Oh no! What do I say now? I better think of something, and quick._ "You're a great guy, but…you're like a…little brother to me. That's why I worry so much."

"Little brother?" Casey asked.

I detected a hint of hurt in his voice. I inwardly cringed. _Did I really just say that? Why did I say that? Why wouldn't I want to be in a relationship? The last time I was in a real relationship was—I can't even remember when. Has it really been that long? I can't believe I just used the 'you're like a little brother to me' line!_

"Yes. And that's all. Is that cool?" I questioned. _The last thing I wanted was for things to become awkward between Casey and me. We had become close friends, and I didn't want to lose that._

"Yeah, that's cool. But that means I'm gonna have to start treating you like I do my sisters."

I saw him dip his hands into the sink and scoop up two handfuls of soap suds. _He wouldn't dare._ He clapped his hands together causing the soap suds to hit me square in the face.

"Aah! So it's like that, is it?" I inquired.

Before he even had a chance to answer, I reached into the sink and returned the favor. We both started splashing each other like there was no tomorrow. Casey and I couldn't help but laugh as we watched one another get soapier and soapier. We both had huge smiles on our faces.

"Guys! Must you?" Theo shouted before retreating back up the staircase.

Casey coughed as I managed to get some suds in his mouth. He feebly held his hands up in defense. _Oh, no. I'm not falling for that one._ Seeing that I wasn't buying his surrender, he resumed splashing me with a mix of soap suds and water.

"This is fun!" I remarked.

All the concerns, all the worries I had that my rejecting Casey would make things awkward between us seemed to ebb away. The only thing on my mind now was how much fun I was having with Casey. _I haven't had this much fun since—since my food fight with Casey._

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Naturally, I loved this scene as well. I just realized that if I end up only doing 40 drabbles, I am officially 1/5 done! That's pretty amazing considering how only four episodes have aired thus far. Um, and just to give you a heads up—I'm moving a week from this Friday, so if my updates aren't as frequent as they are now, please don't hold that against me. Once I've moved, as soon as I get my PC up and running, and caught up on any episodes that I missed, I'll update. You need not worry about that now though because as you can tell, my computer isn't packed yet. Thanks for all your support. Feel free to leave a review. No flames please.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making a profit by writing this.**

**A/N: This takes place during the episode Can't Win Them All. This may contain spoilers, but only if you look really closely. Chronologically, this takes place after Smile (Chapter 8).**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Friends_

"Theo sure is taking it hard," Casey stated.

"Yeah, I know. I've never seen him like this before," Lily replied.

"You don't think he's just going to fold his tent and go home, do you?"

"I hope not. Maybe I should go talk to him."

"We already tried that. Maybe we should just leave him alone. He's a guy, Lily. We don't really like to talk about our feelings."

"I can't just sit here and do nothing knowing that my best friend is hurting!"

"Well, I don't want to see you get hurt. In Theo's present state of mind, he might end up saying something to you that he'll later regret."

Their eyes locked. Lily saw the all too apparent worry and concern in Casey's brown eyes, but that's not all she saw. Lily broke eye contact and found the parmesan cheese on the table quite interesting.

"I wish you wouldn't look at me like that," she remarked.

"Like what?" Casey asked.

"We've been through this before. You're like a little brother to me, and you said that you were cool with it, remember?"

"I was…I am…I'm trying to be."

Lily looked up only to find that Casey was now looking away. He was staring at a couple that had just entered Jungle Karma Pizza. They were holding hands, and she was resting her head on his shoulder.

"I should probably go take their order," Casey said still not looking at Lily.

"Casey, wait. Look, you're a great guy…but I'm not sure I'm the right girl for you."

"Who are you trying to convince, you or me?"

"Casey—"

The red ranger stopped watching the couple and turned to face Lily once more.

"Look me in the eye and tell me that I mean nothing to you. Tell me that during our food fight, our dishwater fight, and when I was hurt you felt nothing for me. If you can tell me this, then I'll drop it."

"I…I can't do that."

"Because you have feelings for me."

"Because I do have feelings for you…as a little brother."

Lily saw the hurt in Casey's eyes once again; it was the same expression he had when she told him the first time that he was like a little brother to her.

"So, can we still be friends?" Lily asked.

Casey took some time to think about his response. Lily started to drum her fingers on the table impatiently awaiting his answer.

"Sure. I rather have you in my life as my friend than not have you in my life at all. Besides, who knows? Maybe one day you'll change your mind about me," Casey answered.

"Good. I'm glad. Now that that's settled…do I really drive you crazy?" Lily inquired.

"Yes…no…did I say that?"

"Yes you did! I believe your exact words were, 'You know Lily drives me crazy sometimes always trying to be so peppy,'" Lily said using air quotes.

Casey couldn't help but snicker. Lily reached over and lightly smacked him on the shoulder.

"That isn't funny, and I'm not peppy!"

"Yeah you are! All you need are some pom-poms and you'll be good to go."

Lily undid the lid to the parmesan cheese and threw it on Casey. It was her turn to start snickering.

"Two can play at that game," Casey said taking off the lid to the crushed red peppers and throwing it on Lily.

"Now you're asking for it," Lily commented.

Just as they were about to grab for more ingredients to throw at one another, they heard, "Hey! Is someone going to take our order?"

To Be Continued…

**A/N: So I was bummed that Can't Win Them All didn't give us any Casey/Lily moments. After they spoiled us with Casey/Lily scenes in A Taste of Poison, I think I'm going through Casey/Lily withdrawal. I thought I'd give 3****rd**** person POV another shot. Let me know what you think by leaving a review. Thanks to everyone who has supported me along the way! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making a profit by writing this.**

**A/N: This takes place after Friends (Chapter 9). It (gasps) does not contain any spoilers whatsoever as it is not based on any episode. **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Green-Eyed Monster_

(Lily's POV)

Theo was wiping down the tables, and I was mopping the floor. Casey was behind the counter tossing pizza dough into the air. I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I turned around to see a girl with shoulder length, curly brown hair and green eyes. She was wearing a yellow tank top and tight fitting blue jeans. Her outfit was completed with a pair of black Stilettos.

"How may I help you?" I asked politely.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you could tell me whether or not that guy over there is single because I think he is really cute," the female customer replied.

I followed her gaze to see which guy she was talking about, and as luck would have it, she was talking about Casey. I was pretty sure my heart just skipped a beat.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, but he's seeing someone," I answered quite pleased with myself.

"That's too bad," she said.

I turned around to see Theo give me a knowing look, but I simply ignored it and resumed mopping the floor.

"Apparently, she's not taking 'no' for an answer," Theo remarked.

I looked over and saw that she was standing by Casey now. My grip on the mop tightened so much that my knuckles started to turn white.

"Why did you tell her that Casey was taken anyways?" Theo asked.

"Will you be quiet Theo? I'm trying to hear what they're saying!" I exclaimed.

"Hello," the female customer said.

"Hi. If you're here to order, I'm not in charge of taking orders; just making pizzas," Casey stated.

"Oh, I didn't come over here to order. In fact…" she said before pulling a pen out of her front right jean pocket and writing on a napkin. "I'm here to give you my number just in case you break up with whomever you are seeing."

"Lily, are you okay?" Theo questioned.

"Peachy," I replied unconvincingly.

"All right. It's just that you've been mopping that same spot for awhile now, and if you mop it any harder, you'll put a hole in the floor."

"Can you believe the nerve of that girl?! I told her he was unavailable!"

"Why, might I ask, did—"

"Shh! Casey's about to answer!"

"I'm not seeing anyone. Who told you that I was?" Casey asked.

"That girl," the female customer responded pointing in my direction. _Uh-oh. Not good! Not good at all!_

"Will you excuse me?" Casey said.

As Casey was approaching, I heard Theo say, "I gotta go. I see a table over there that needs wiped down."

"Hey Case. What's up?" I said trying to disguise the nervousness in my voice.

"Can I talk to you in the back?" he answered.

As I followed Casey to the back, my mind was racing trying to think of ways to dig myself out of this hole that I had made for myself. Once we were in the back, Casey made sure the door was closed.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked innocently.

"Why are you going around telling people that I'm not single?" Casey demanded. _I've never heard Casey sound so mad before!_

"I'm not telling _people_, just that one girl!"

"You shouldn't be telling anybody that when you and I both know that's not true!"

"She's not right for you."

"Oh really? Well, who is?"

"I don't know! Just not her!"

"Who then? You?"

It was at that moment that I realized I was jealous. _Why would I be jealous though? It's not like Casey and I are dating!_

"I didn't say that!" I replied.

"You didn't have to!" Casey exclaimed.

I looked down and saw the sink—the same sink that sparked a water fight between me and Casey not too long ago.

"What do you want from me, Lily? There's nothing between you and me. You said so yourself. I'm just a little brother to you, remember?" Casey said his voice visibly softening.

I felt my eyes start to well up with tears. As much as I didn't want to cry in front of Casey, I couldn't stop a few stray tears from rolling down my cheeks.

"You have no right to tell me who I can and can't date. I know I said that I would wait for you—hold on to a fleeting chance that you might change your mind about me someday, but I can't do that anymore. I _won't_ do that anymore. You know something else? I'm going to call Lacey back, and she and I are going to go out on a date whether you like it or not, so you better get used to it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have pizzas to make." Casey said before brushing past me and heading back out.

Once Casey left, the flood gates burst open and I cried like I've never cried before. I mourned the fact that I had lost Casey. I mourned the fact that he was never mine to begin with.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: So, in terms of length, I've been shooting for around 500 words per chapter, but this chapter was way off the mark. That being said, I couldn't pull the plug when there was more I wanted to do with the chapter, and I didn't want to make it into two chapters either. I had this idea for awhile now, but was just waiting for the right opportunity to flesh it out. Don't worry Casey/Lily fans this ****is**** a romance theme challenge for Casey and Lily. Anyways, feel free to leave a review. No flames please. I really appreciate everyone who has supported me along the way; it is because of you that I'm as far as I am into the theme challenge. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer; I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making any profit writing this.**

**A/N: This takes place after Green-Eyed Monster (Chapter 10). This is not based on any episode because let's face it, Can't Win Them All didn't give me much to work with.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Patience_

(Casey's POV)

I was in the parking lot at Jungle Karma Pizza waiting for Lacey to show up. I glanced at my watch and saw that she was already running five minutes late. _I hope I'm not going to get stood up._

Then, I saw a black stretch limo pull into the parking lot and park right in front of me. The driver got out and opened one of the passenger doors. Out stepped Lacey in a sleeveless, sequined, yellow dress with matching high heels. _What is it with Lacey and the color yellow? I know someone else who also likes to wear yellow a lot. No, Casey! Don't go there! Snap out of it! You're going out with Lacey not Lily!_

"Ugh. You're seriously not wearing _that_ on our date, are you?" Lacey asked.

I looked down at my red hooded sweatshirt, baggy blue jeans, and white sneakers with red stripes.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing? We're just going to a baseball game," I replied.

"A baseball game? You're joking, right?"

"I thought that was the plan." _What's wrong with baseball?_

"Fortunately, I already made dinner reservations for two at a restaurant downtown. You don't happen to have a tux, do you?" she asked.

_Right, because having a tuxedo was vital to our training at the Pai Zhuq academy. _"Not a one," I answered.

"Well, I guess we'll have to stop at the Ocean Bluff Mall and get you one then. We should also do something about your hair."

_Okay, so maybe my hair wasn't styled or anything, but I just got off work, and barely had time to throw on some clothes before I came out here to wait for my date to arrive. It's not my fault I have to wear a baseball cap at work!_

So, we got inside the limo. It was the first time I had ever ridden in a limo before, but for some reason, I just couldn't get excited about it.

"No offense, but if you're this rich, then why do you come to a place like Jungle Karma Pizza?" I asked.

"It's a good thing I did, because otherwise I would never have met you," she replied.

She placed her hand on my thigh, and I scooted away from her. The rest of the ride was spent in uncomfortable silence. Well, that wasn't what was making me uncomfortable. I felt her staring at me the whole time. Every time I would glance over at her, she wouldn't even bother looking away. It's like she wanted me to know that she was staring at me. It was giving me the creeps.

We pulled into the parking lot of the Ocean Bluff Mall. I didn't even wait for the driver to open the door for me to get out.

"Wow! Someone's excited to get a tux," Lacey remarked.

_Yeah, that's what it is. _

Much to my dismay, she was following me. Not only that, but she was doing a decent job of keeping up with me despite her wearing high heels.

I went into the nearest men's formal wear store that I could find. I didn't care what I wore just as long as I could get into the dressing room to try it on and get away from Lacey. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her going through the tuxedos on the rack as well.

"Thanks, but I'm a big boy. I can pick out my own clothes," I stated.

"Yeah, but you're a _guy_ and I'm a _girl_. I know what would actually look good on you," she responded.

I snatched the first tuxedo jacket, tuxedo shirt, dress slacks, necktie, and pair of dress shoes I could find and all but ran into the dressing room. Even though it was a men's dressing room, I half expected Lacey to follow me in just so she could watch me change.

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

We were now seated at our table in the restaurant. I opened up the menu, and as soon as I saw the prices, my eyes just about fell out of their sockets.

"You _do _realize that I only get paid minimum wage at Jungle Karma Pizza, right?" I inquired putting the menu down.

"Well, I hope you don't expect me to pay for it. I didn't bring a purse with me, much less a credit card," she answered.

_Great! Between having to buy a new tux, and paying for dinner, there goes my last paycheck!_

"You know red looks good on you," Lacey said referring to the red necktie I was wearing.

"Are you ready to order?" a waiter asked.

"Nope. Still deciding," I said opening the menu up and burying my face in it.

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

We were standing just outside the front door to her house. House is an understatement. Lacey lived in a mansion.

"Tonight was fun. I had a great time," she remarked.

_I'm glad someone did._

She leaned in for I assume a goodnight kiss, but I looked away.

"It's getting late, and so I should go," I said.

"It's only 8 o'clock," Lacey stated.

_Not in Florida, it isn't._

"We should do this again sometime," she called out to me as I headed back to the limo.

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

As soon as I got back to the loft, I flopped down on a beanbag chair. _What a night! How I had the patience to make it through the whole date without throwing in the towel is beyond me._

(Lily's POV)

I heard someone enter the loft. I went to see who it was, and saw Casey sprawled out on a beanbag chair. Theo and I knew he had a date with Lacey tonight.

"You look terrible," I remarked. _Actually, that's not true. With his hair slicked back, the black tuxedo with a red necktie, he does look rather handsome._

"Gee, thanks," Casey replied.

"How did your date go?" I asked though based on how exhausted he looked, I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

"You were right; Lacey's not the right girl for me. Needless to say, there isn't going to be a second date," Casey answered.

I knew I shouldn't have been, but I was so happy to hear him say that.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Ha! You all thought I was moving today, didn't you? Well, change of plans. I'm moving tomorrow now. There was a problem with the moving truck. Anyways, yeah so I overshot the 500 word mark again. Like last time though, I didn't want to split it into two chapters. You weren't really thinking Casey and Lacey would work, were you? I had a hard time writing this chapter, but I hope you liked it anyways. Feel free to leave me a review and tell me what you think. No flames please. Thanks to everyone who's supported me along the way! You guys (and girls) are awesome!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury, nor am I making a profit by writing this. **

**A/N: This takes place after Patience (Chapter 11). Chronologically, this takes place after the episode Can't Win Them All but before the episode Dance the Night Away. This is not based off any episode since you guys seem to like those kinds of chapters.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Pride_

It was just another day at Jungle Karma Pizza. After the rangers successfully thwarted Gacko, everything had been quiet—a little too quiet. The rangers knew it was only a matter of time until the next finger of poison attacked; it was just a matter of when and where.

"Great! If she asks, I'm not here," Casey said before rushing to the back room.

Lily looked thoroughly confused as she watched the red ranger's retreating form. She scanned her surroundings and soon saw that Lacey had just come in through the front door.

"Hey, is Casey around?" Lacey asked.

A mischievous smile appeared on Lily's face.

"Yeah, he's in the back," Lily answered.

Lacey rushed to the back to find Casey washing some dishes in the sink. As soon as he saw Lacey, the plate he was holding dropped and shattered on the floor beneath him.

"What are you doing here?" Casey inquired.

Lacey gave him a look like that was the most ridiculous question in the world.

"Well, seeing how you haven't returned any of my calls or texts, I figured I'd personally pay you a visit," she replied.

"Was I _supposed_ to call you?" Casey asked innocently.

"Well, yeah! How else are we supposed to discuss a second date?"

The color drained from Casey's face. Whether voluntarily or involuntarily, his body shuddered.

"Uh…yeah…about that…I'm kind of…seeing someone else," Casey stated.

At first, Lacey looked livid, but then, she quickly regained her composure. She now had an almost amused expression on her face.

"Ha-ha. Very funny. For a second there, I _almost_ believed you," Lacey responded.

"No, I'm serious. I'm seeing someone else," Casey said.

"Who?"

"Lily."

"Am I _supposed_ to know who that is?"

Casey let out an exasperated sigh. He left Lacey alone in the back—but not for long as she was in pursuit.

He saw Lily waiting on a family of four. Casey walked over to her, put an arm around her lower back, leaned her back, and kissed her square on the lips. Lily gasped in surprise initially, but otherwise seemed to enjoy it.

Lacey scoffed. "This isn't over, Lily! You'll see, you'll _both_ see that Casey and I belong together!" she exclaimed before storming out of Jungle Karma Pizza.

Lily and Casey ceased their lip lock and saw that the mother had covered the little girl's eyes while the father had covered the little boy's eyes. The parents' jaws were dropped, and the two of them were gaping at Casey and Lily.

Lily cleared her throat. "So, um…two large thrilla gorilla pizzas coming right up. Casey, why don't you come to the back and help me?"

Casey followed Lily to the back. No sooner had they reached the back, when Lily threw up her hands in frustration.

"What was that?!" Lily shrieked.

"Look Lily, I'm sorry, but I told you to tell Lacey I wasn't here," Casey answered.

"Oh, no! Don't you dare blame this on me!"

"I'm not! Look, I know I crossed a line—"

"To say the least!"

An awkward silence filled the room. Whether it was from anger or from her blushing, Lily's cheeks were a deep red.

"You just kissed me to make Lacey jealous, right?" Lily asked.

"Yeah…that's it," Casey said dejectedly.

"Good. Then let's just pretend that this never happened."

Casey knew that Lily enjoyed the kiss they shared just as much as he had. He didn't get why she couldn't just swallow her pride and admit it to him.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: At long last, I updated. So, I got to Florida on the 19****th****. The moving truck arrived on the 28****th****. I just got my computer set up on the 31****st****. At any rate, I hope the wait was worth it. Thanks to everyone who has supported me along the way. I've said it before, and I'll say it again—you all are awesome! Oh, and this story has been added to a C2! I never thought ****that**** would happen! Feel free to leave me a review. I have pyrophobia y'all, so don't flame me! ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making any profit by writing this. If you didn't know this by now, then you really haven't been reading the disclaimers then, have you? The only thing I own that is relevant to this story is my OC, Lacey.**

**A/N: From here on out, unless explicitly stated otherwise, the current chapter follows the previous chapter chronologically. As far as the show is concerned, this takes place a teeny, tiny bit during the episode Dance the Night Away and immediately after the episode. **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Yield_

(Casey's POV)

"Ah, love," RJ and Fran said simultaneously.

I watched as Theo scurried out the door in search of Lily. Apparently, they had some sort of lunch date or something. Imagine my surprise when I heard that Theo was in love with Lily. It all started to make sense now.

_(Flashback)_

"Thanks. Whether or not Lily actually has a thing for you, just promise me you won't go there with her."

"Theo—"

"Case!"

"Okay. I promise."

(_End Flashback)_

Theo played me. He probably only wanted Lily all to himself. He wasn't worried about losing his best friend. He just wanted to be more than friends with Lily, and maybe, just maybe, the feeling was mutual.

(_Flashback_)

"You just kissed me to make Lacey jealous, right?" Lily asked.

"Yeah…that's it," I said dejectedly.

"Good. Then let's just pretend that this never happened."

(_End Flashback_)

Sure I didn't know how Lily felt about Theo, but I did know how she felt about me. She told me on more than one occasion that she sees me as nothing more than her little brother. If she had feelings for me, then why would she want to pretend our kiss never happened?

For that matter, I didn't even know how Theo felt about Lily. All I know is that RJ and Fran said it was love.

I had kept my word to Theo and talked to RJ about switching his employees' schedules so that Lily and Theo would have more free time together. While their shifts had just ended, mine and Fran's were just beginning.

I thought I said I was through waiting for Lily. I thought I said that I was done holding onto a fleeting chance that someday she might change her mind about me.

If Theo and Lily have feelings for each other like I think they do, how can I possibly compete with that? It's like Theo said, they go way back. There's also 'a bond that will last forever' between them, according to Lily.

What am I to them? Apparently, I'm still just the new guy. I remember cringing when I heard Lily refer to me as her friend, her new friend. At least it's sort of better than her seeing me as a little brother.

Theo had done one thing I had never been able to do—go out on a date with Lily. That was eating me alive.

"Casey! There you are! You will _not_ believe what I just saw!" Lacey exclaimed suddenly appearing in the back room with me. _What is she doing here? Last I checked, she didn't work here and we weren't dating._

"What are _you_ doing here?" I asked wincing at how impolite I sounded.

"I just saw Lily and that little Asian boy co-worker of yours kissing!"

I didn't know whether to believe Lacey or not. Given her crush on me, I wouldn't put it past her if she was completely making this up. However, having just found out from Fran and RJ that Theo was in love with Lily, I believed what Lacey said.

There are no words to describe how hurt and betrayed I felt at that moment. It was almost too much for me to take in. If Lily wants me to pretend like our kiss never happened, if she wants me to stop pursuing her, then she should be careful what she asks for because she just might get it. I'll stop. I'll yield.

As far as I'm concerned, now I'm definitely done waiting around for Lily. What's the point? Why should I wait around for someone who will never feel the same way about me?

(Lacey's POV)

From the look on Casey's face, he bought it. I didn't _really_ see Lily and what's-his-face kissing. I merely made it up because I knew it would get under Casey's skin. An ever so subtle hint of a smile appeared on my face. My plan had come together quite nicely.

"So, I guess that means you're single again," I remarked.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Just for the record, writer's block is the worst! I seriously scrapped three drafts of this chapter. To everyone who has read, reviewed, and all that other good stuff, you have my deepest gratitude. If you have any comments, drop me a review. Remember, I have pyrophobia, so don't flame me. ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: See the previous 13 chapters.**

**A/N: This takes place after the episode Pizza Slice of Life but before Way of the Master. **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Secrets_

(Fran's POV)

My shift had just ended. Jungle Karma Pizza was now closed for business, at least until tomorrow. I flipped the sign from open to closed.

Casey and I were in charge of closing tonight. I noticed that out of all my co-workers, the shifts I worked happened to coincide with the shifts Casey worked. The only exceptions to that were Friday, Saturday, and Sunday when our shifts overlapped with Theo and Lily's shifts.

When Casey was talking to Theo and Lily at work, he certainly seemed civil enough, but he seemed to be doing everything he could to avoid the two of them. I was curious as to what had happened between the three of them.

Of course, Casey was working for no pay at all. When Casey was left in charge, and he was trying to rehire me, he offered me triple my salary. Unfortunately for Casey, my pay bonus came at the expense of his salary.

"Hey Casey, do you have a minute?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?" he replied.

I took a seat in a booth and he followed suit sitting across from me.

"First of all, I just wanted to thank you for my pay increase. You didn't have to do that though. You had me at 'I'm sorry,'" I explained.

Casey smiled. "Now you tell me. With the way you said 'double,' I thought you wanted more pay."

I was glad to see Casey smile—really genuinely smile, not the fake smile he's been slapping on his face for the customers lately. "I'm sorry that it means you won't get paid for awhile."

"Don't worry about it. So, was there a second of all?"

_Well, here goes nothing._ "Yeah, did something happen between you, Lily, and Theo? I've noticed you're acting differently around them than you used to."

Casey shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He sighed deeply. "Look, I heard you and RJ talk about how Theo was in love when he was scrambling off for his lunch date with Lily."

"Why would that matter?"

Casey averted his gaze and stared at the floor instead. A light bulb went off in my head.

"Oh! Well, what do I know about love, really? It's not like I have any experience in the matter. All I know about love is what I read in romance novels. Theo's probably not even in love with Lily."

"Maybe not, but what if he is?"

"If he is, which again, I doubt he is, I know Lily isn't."

Casey resumed eye contact with me, his eyes visibly brightening.

"Are you sure? I mean how do you know?" he asked.

"Casey, Lily's a girl. I'm a girl. We girls are pretty good at reading one another. Trust me. Lily doesn't think of Theo in that way," I explained.

I let him chew on that information for awhile before I spoke again. "Is that why you and I usually aren't working the same time as Theo and Lily?" It's not that I had a problem working with Casey. Truth be told, I much rather work with Casey than Theo. I seriously wish Theo came with an off button. His excessive complaining is beyond irritating.

"Yeah. That's pretty pathetic, huh?" he responded.

"No. Not at all," I said. I checked my watch and was surprised at the time. "It's getting late. I should get home."

"It's kind of dark outside. Do you want me to walk you home?" Casey asked.

"No. That's okay. I'll manage. Thanks for offering though," I replied feeling my cheeks heat up. _Casey can be such a sweetheart!_

"Oh, okay. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then," he said.

I got up out of the booth and headed for the front door. I hadn't quite reached it when I heard, "Fran, thanks, you know, for our talk."

I threw caution to the wind, and turned around to face him desperately hoping I wasn't blushing anymore.

"No problem," I stated.

I turned back around and left Jungle Karma Pizza. I really hoped that Casey would be able to patch things up with Lily and Theo.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: So, if this was an episode and my fic was the show, this might classify as filler, but nonetheless I hope you liked it. I appreciate and am overwhelmed by all the support I have received no matter how you showed it. I can only hope that you will continue to support me. Don't forget: me equals pyrophobic. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: PRJF and all names, images, likenesses, etc. belong to Disney. I am not making a profit by writing this. **

**A/N: This takes place after the episode Way of the Master. **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Spellbound_

(Lily's POV)

"Hey Lily, are you still awake?" I heard Casey ask.

This certainly was strange. I haven't seen much of Casey lately, much less talked to him. Once upon a time, Theo, Casey, and I worked the same hours as one another. I miss those days.

"Nope. I just talk in my sleep," I replied sarcastically.

I heard something that sounded like Casey snickering. "Well, in that case, I'll leave then," Casey responded.

I sat up in my bed and pretended to rub sand from my eyes. I followed that up with stretching my arms and giving a loud, obnoxious yawn.

Casey rolled his eyes at me. "I just wanted to say that I think it was cool how you wouldn't give up on Master Phant."

"Well, I guess that goes to show you that the wait is usually worth it," I said.

Casey gestured towards my bed before saying, "Do you mind?"

"Suit yourself," I answered.

He sat down beside me on my bed. He positioned his body so that he was looking me in the eyes. I could see the guilt in his eyes.

"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately. It's just that Lacey said she saw you and Theo kissing, and well, I believed her," he explained.

I was shocked—both by the fact that Casey believed her, and by the fact that Lacey would stoop so low. If I didn't hate her before, I definitely did now.

"Casey, Theo's my best friend, and nothing more."

Now, the guilt in Casey's chocolate, brown eyes was replaced by relief. I saw him eye the pillows on my bed.

"You know what we haven't done in awhile? Now, we may not have dishwater, we may not have flour and pizza toppings, we may not have grated parmesan cheese and crushed red peppers, but I think _these_ will do just fine," he said quickly grabbing a pillow and whacking me in the face with it.

"Oh, no you didn't!" I exclaimed picking up a pillow and hitting him behind the head with it.

I wasn't about to give him the chance to retaliate, so I rolled off the bed and got as far away from my bed as possible. It was easier said than done though because he was standing in my way, pillow in hand. Both of us had enormous grins on our faces.

He made the first move swinging his pillow at me, but I was easily able to sidestep the attack countering with a pillow shot to the side of his head.

He tried once more, but it ended with the same result only this time I nailed him on the other side of his head. I was laughing so hard that my side started to hurt. Casey wasn't laughing though despite the fact that he was still smiling. I didn't blame him though. There was no doubt I was winning this pillow fight.

"You're going to have to be quicker than that. Don't forget that my animal spirit is the cheetah," I stated.

Casey stuck his tongue out at me, and I stuck my tongue back out at him. He swung his pillow again. I sidestepped again, but it turned out he had faked me out and hit me on my butt with his pillow.

I squealed. Then, I decided to take a different approach. I bum rushed him, tackling him. He fell onto my bed and I fell on top of him. I repositioned myself so that I was sitting on top of his chest. We both started whacking each other with our pillows, each and every blow becoming fiercer and fiercer.

The two of us were having so much fun as was evident by our seemingly endless laughter.

I knocked his pillow out of his hands with my pillow. His pillow fell off the bed. I didn't hesitate smothering him with my pillow now that he was defenseless. Once I felt I smothered him enough, I threw my pillow aside, grabbed his wrists and pinned them down by his sides.

Our eyes locked. Sparks were flying. I leaned down, and just as my lips hovered millimeters over his, I heard Theo clear his throat as loudly as he possibly could whilst saying, "Am I interrupting something?"

Casey and I darted apart, our backs to one another. My heart was racing, I was breathing heavily, and my cheeks were flushed.

"Uh…good night, Lily," Casey said.

"Yeah. You too," I replied.

I gave Theo a withering glare. I wasn't sure what I was about to do before Theo walked in on Casey and me, but I do know that it didn't happen _because_ Theo walked in on Casey and me. Most shocking of all was that I kind of wished whatever didn't happen _had _happened.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: I thought some Casey/Lily goodness was long overdue, so there you go. Thank you so much to all my supporters, new and old. Feel free to leave a review. No flames, please. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Power Rangers Jungle Fury, and I still am not making a profit by writing this.**

**A/N: This takes place after the episode Way of the Master but before the next new episode, Good Karma, Bad Karma. Oh, and my OC that everyone hates to love and loves to hate makes her return in this chapter.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Test_

(Lacey's POV)

I had finally gotten over how hurt I was that Casey had the nerve to kiss Lily in front of me. I decided to pay him a visit at Jungle Karma Pizza. Maybe he and Lily had broken up by now.

I was a meager three or so feet from the entrance when Casey, Lily, and what's-his-face came rushing out the door calling out, "Something just came up Fran. You're in charge."

Casey didn't even say anything to me. Why didn't he say anything to me? It's not like he didn't see me. He had to have seen me! He ran right past me for crying out loud!

My curiosity got the best of me. I climbed back into my limo and said to the driver, "Follow them, but be careful not to be seen."

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

I ended up at a rock quarry. There was something that looked like a human-sized chameleon surrounded by what I could only presume was her minions. They were wearing, I don't even know what they were wearing, but they had horrible fashion sense.

I saw Casey, Lily, and what's-his-face reach into a pouch attached to their waists and pull out a pair of sunglasses. Casey's was red. Lily's was yellow. What's-his-face's was blue.

"Jungle beast, spirit unleashed!" they shouted in unison.

Where they once stood, now stood the red, yellow, and blue power rangers. I was shocked beyond belief. There was no doubt in my mind that I could use this information to my advantage.

I was utterly amazed that my crush, Casey, was the red power ranger. I always thought the color red looked good on him.

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

After the power rangers emerged victorious, they resumed their civilian forms and returned to Jungle Karma Pizza. I waited for awhile before entering. I didn't want to go in too soon otherwise they might think I had been following them.

I looked around the pizza parlor and only saw Lily and some nerdy-looking girl. Convinced that Casey was in the back, I headed for the back door. Apparently, Lily had seen me because when I reached the back door, she was standing in front of it with her arms folded across her chest.

"I'm sorry, but the back room is for employees only," she said.

"Whatever! I need to talk to Casey," I replied, not that it was any of her business.

"Okay, I'm going to say this really slowly, so read my lips. Casey—does—not—like—you—at—all. Don't you find it strange that he never called to set up a second date? Don't you find it strange that every time you show up here, he is avoiding you? Take a hint!"

"I'm sure you're to blame for that. So, have you kissed your little Asian friend again?"

"You have some nerve trying to sabotage my relationship with Casey! It is taking every ounce of self-control in my body to stop myself from kicking your butt all over the pizza parlor."

I stuck my head out and patted my jaw with my right hand.

"Go ahead. Hit me right here. Just know that if you so much as lay a finger on me, I will sue you for all you're worth—and then some," I replied. I made a scooting gesture with both of my hands. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see Casey."

"Fine. You can go see Casey, but I'm coming with you. I hope you don't mind," Lily said stating the last part sarcastically.

The two of us entered the back room, and I saw Casey putting toppings on pizzas while what's-his-face was washing dishes in the sink.

"Lacey? What are you doing here?" Casey asked.

"I have a little proposition for you," I answered.

"Ugh! Do I even want to know?" Casey inquired.

"Oh, I think you will. In fact, I think all three of you will be interested in hearing what I have to say," I said.

"I seriously doubt that!" Lily remarked.

I ignored Lily, and continued on with what I had to say. "See, I know that you three are power rangers, and unless you want all of Ocean Bluff to know as well, then you, Casey, are going on another date with me," I said with a smirk on my face.

Three pairs of eyes were on Casey.

"So Casey, what will it be?" I asked.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Ha! How's that for a cliffhanger? I hope my fic helps you get your JF fix while we wait until the 21****st**** for the next new episode. To all my supporters, you are amazing. Your support is like the fuel that keeps this fic going. Reviews are always welcome. Flames are not. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. If I did, the next new episode would air tonight not on the 21****st****! I am not making a profit by writing this.**

**A/N: This also takes place after the episode 'Way of the Master,' but before the episode 'Good Karma, Bad Karma.' **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Worst-Case Scenario_

(Casey's POV)

I was caught between a rock and a hard place. It was a lose-lose situation. This was definitely the worst-case scenario. If I said I would go on a second date with Lacey, I would set my progress back with Lily a good month or two, maybe even indefinitely. On the other hand, if I said I wouldn't go on a second date with Lacey, she would expose me, Theo, and Lily as being power rangers.

"Unless you have proof, then you're just giving us an empty threat. It would be your word against our word," Theo commented.

"Casey, don't agree to this! You had a horrible first date with _her_. What makes you think a second date would be any better?" Lily remarked.

"You're right. I don't have any proof that you are who I say you are. However, my limo driver does. You see, once we arrived at the rock quarry, I had him film the whole thing. So Casey, again I ask, what will it be?" Lacey inquired.

Now it really was one or the other. I felt everybody's eyes on me, and it was starting to make me uncomfortable. No matter what I said, I would be letting someone in this room down.

"Unbelievable! I can't believe you're even considering the idea of going on another date with _her_! How come you're taking so long to come up with an answer? What's there to think about?" Lily asked.

My palms were sweaty. I swallowed a lump that was beginning to form in my throat. I braced myself. I knew what had to be done.

"Lacey, I wouldn't go on a date with you again even if you were the last girl left on the planet," I stated.

Her jaw dropped, and shock was written all over her face. My answer was obviously not what she had expected. Then, much to my surprise, she had what looked to be a grin on her face. _What is with this girl?_

"See? This is one of the many things I love about you, Casey. You're playing hard to get. Girls love it when guys play hard to get," Lacey said.

Lacey walked up to me, stood on her tiptoes, and planted a kiss on my lips. This gesture caught me completely off guard. Even so, as soon as our lips made contact, I shoved her backwards.

"What are you doing?!" I asked incredulously while wiping my lips with the back of my hand.

I heard Lily choke back a sob. I saw that her eyes had started to water. She left the back room in a hurry.

"Lily, wait!" I exclaimed.

I went to follow her, but Theo held his arm out, stopping me in my tracks. He glared daggers at me.

"I think you've done enough!" he exclaimed before he went to go after his best friend.

Lacey left without another word. As she walked away, she swung her hips in what she probably thought was a seductive manner.

I walked over to the staircase, and plopped down on the bottom stair. I changed my mind. _This_ was the worst-case scenario.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Since we're not getting a new episode tonight, I thought I'd give you guys a new chapter instead. To all my supporters, thank you so much. A good way to let me know what you think is to leave me a review. No flames please.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making any profit by writing this, but if someone wants to hire me...kidding.**

**A/N: This takes place after the episode 'Way of the Master,' but before the episode 'Good Karma, Bad Karma.' **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Home_

(RJ's POV)

That night, dinner was…different. There was so much negative energy radiating off my cubs. Theo and Lily didn't say a word to Casey. Likewise, Casey didn't say a word to Theo and Lily.

I have a keen intuition—well, that and Fran keeps me well informed. We often have phone conversations that last until the late hours of the night. Anyways, I was fully aware that the cheetah has fallen for the tiger, or is it the tiger has fallen for the cheetah? In any case, Casey and Lily have definitely been vibing off one another. I had a hunch that something bad had happened between Casey and Lily, and since Theo is Lily's best friend that would explain why he seemed to be mad at Casey too.

"Does someone mind telling me what's going on?" I asked.

The three of them looked around at one another, but no one said a word.

"Don't all volunteer at once now," I said.

Casey's cell phone rang. He looked at the screen to see who it was. He scooted his chair away from the table, stood up and said, "Will you excuse me?"

I heard Lily mutter something under her breath that sounded like, "It's probably _her_! Great, now he's answering her calls too!"

Casey never returned to the dinner table. After dinner was over, I went to check on him and found he was packing a suitcase.

"Going somewhere?" I inquired.

"Yeah. I don't know when I'll be back, or for that matter, _if_ I'll even be back," he answered.

I was baffled. _That wasn't vague or anything._

"Aren't you going to tell Theo and Lily you're leaving?" I asked.

Casey looked at me incredulously. "What do they care? They're both mad at me," he stated.

I was getting fed up with him not giving me a straight answer. I took a few cleansing breaths, but that was to no avail.

"As your boss, no, as your master, I think I have a right to know what is going on and where you're going," I said.

"I'm going home, okay? That is all you need to know," Casey replied.

"You can't just walk away from your responsibilities! You have a job. You're a power ranger."

"RJ, I don't want to get into this with you. Right now, the only duty I am concerned about is my duty as a brother."

Convinced that I wasn't getting anywhere with Casey, I decided to go and get someone I thought could.

I didn't waste any time. As soon as I got to Lily's room, I said, "Uh, Lil…I don't know how to say this, but here goes. Casey's leaving."

Lily looked like a mixture of sadness and anger. She made a beeline for Casey. I hoped she would be able to get a straight answer from him. I sure didn't.

(Lily's POV)

"This is just great. The moment things start to get a little rough, you run away. Seeing you and another girl kissing is enough to make me sick to my stomach. I can't believe you would even consider going on a second date with _her_!" I exclaimed.

"Are you done?" Casey asked.

"I can't believe I fell for you! I thought I had you all figured out, but I guess I was wrong." I stated.

Casey zipped up his suitcase. He pulled out the retractable handle.

"I didn't kiss Lacey! _She_ kissed _me_! I immediately pushed her away. I never considered going out on a second date with her! I did consider protecting not only my secret identity, but yours and Theo's as well. How selfish of me!" he retorted.

"Casey, I—"

"Oh, and my parents died in a car crash. I'm going home to be with my sisters because they need me; I'm all they have left. Good-bye, Lily." Casey said grabbing his suitcase and leaving the loft.

I felt so horrible for going off on Casey when something so tragic just happened. I desperately wanted to do or say something, anything, but I was frozen in place.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: I don't think I did a very good job writing RJ's POV, which is probably why I had never done a chapter from his POV up until now. I actually had this idea for awhile now, but was waiting for the right time to go through with it. Thank you so much for all your support! Feel free to leave a review. No flames please.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: Disney owns Power Rangers Jungle Fury, not me. I'm so jealous. I'm not making any profit by writing this. **

**A/N: This takes place after the episode 'Way of the Master' and before the episode 'Good Karma, Bad Karma.' **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Sacrifice_

Theo, Lily, and Fran were getting ready to open Jungle Karma Pizza. Theo was making sure that everything was ready to go. Fran saw how exhausted Lily looked.

"Are you okay? You look beat," Fran commented.

"No. I didn't sleep a wink last night," Lily replied.

"Because Casey left?"

Lily gave Fran a how-did-you-know? look.

"RJ told me all about it last night on the phone." Fran explained.

"I just wish I could have convinced him to stay, you know? I know he hasn't even been gone a day, but it still feels weird not having him around," Lily said.

"It sounds like you really miss him."

"Yeah."

"Everything's good to go. I'm going to flip the sign to 'open.'" Theo announced.

As soon as Theo had officially opened Jungle Karma Pizza, an elderly man came in. He was wearing a black tuxedo jacket, white tuxedo shirt, black necktie, and black slacks. His head was pretty much bald except for some grey hair on the sides.

"May I help you?" Lily asked.

"Is Casey here?" the old man responded.

Lily looked down at the ground sadly.

"No, he's not," Fran answered.

The elderly man took a good look at Lily. He took out a tape from one of his tuxedo jacket's pockets. He held it out to Lily.

"Here, take it. Smash it. Light it on fire. Write over it. Do whatever you want with it," the old man stated.

"Exactly who are you?" Theo asked walking over and standing by Lily's side.

"My apologies. I'm Lacey's chauffeur. She wanted me to 'take care of it,' but I can't go through with it. She doesn't even know I'm here. If she did, I'm sure she'd have me fired," Lacey's chauffeur said.

"I don't get it. What is that?" Fran asked.

"Nothing," Theo and Lily said in unison as Theo took the tape.

Fran looked at Theo and Lily suspiciously.

"I should probably go. Lacey is probably looking for me by now," Lacey's chauffeur remarked.

"Correction old man. I've already found you," an all-too-familiar voice said.

Theo, Lily, and Fran saw Lacey come in through the entrance. They also noticed the old man before them flinch.

"I suspected you wouldn't go through with it, Todd, and that's why I followed you here. Consider yourself fired," Lacey stated.

Mustering up confidence he didn't know he had, Todd replied, "Nice try, missy, but I don't work for you. I work for your parents. I've been working for your parents since before you were even born, and they wouldn't fire me."

"That's what you think. What you obviously don't realize is that my mom and dad give me anything I want, so if I _want_ you fired, they'll do it. Now then, whatever-your-name-is, I'll take that tape," Lacey said looking at Theo.

"I have a name, you know. Theo. T.H.E.O. You're not getting this tape," Theo replied shoving the tape in his pant pocket.

After watching Lacey threaten her own chauffeur, and given how she ruined her relationship with Casey, Lily had had enough of Lacey. She grabbed a pitcher of soda and threw it on her nemesis, drenching her blouse.

"My blouse! It's ruined! I just got this yesterday!" Lacey shrieked.

Lily had a triumphant smile on her face. "You said if I ever so much as laid a finger on you, that you would sue me, but I didn't even touch you," Lily remarked.

Lacey left Jungle Karma Pizza completely forgetting about the tape. She was more concerned with her blouse.

"You don't really think you'll lose your job, do you?" Lily asked Todd.

"Probably, but it was worth it. Some things are best kept secret," he answered.

"Knowing Lacey, it won't be secret for long," Theo commented.

"True, but we have the one thing Lacey needs—proof," Lily stated.

Theo, Lily, and Todd went in separate directions, leaving Fran standing there alone.

"Proof? Proof of what?" she asked.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has put my story on their favorite story list and/or story alert list. Thank you to everyone who has put me on their favorite author list and/or author alert list. Last, but not least, thank you to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story. Let me know what you think by leaving a review. No flames please. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making a profit by writing this.**

**A/N: This takes place after the episode 'Way of the Master,' but before the episode 'Good Karma, Bad Karma.'**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Knight_

(Lily's POV)

Theo and I were in the loft when the alarms on one of the television monitors started blaring. On the screen, Camille and an army of Rinshi were attacking. Theo and I each grabbed a vine and swung out of the loft.

"With the stealth of a jaguar—Jungle Fury, blue ranger."

"With the speed of a cheetah—Jungle Fury, yellow ranger."

It had been one week to this day that Casey left to head home for his parents' funerals. As Theo and I raced towards Camille and the Rinshi, I had but one thought on my mind. _I really hope we can do this without Casey_.

"Casey sure picked a good time to be gone! What if we need to use the Claw Cannon? What if we need to form the megazord? We can't do either of those things without him here!" Theo pointed out.

I knew that Theo had a point, but still, it's not like Casey _asked_ for his parents to die in a car crash. If it had been my parents instead of Casey's, I'm sure I would have done exactly as Casey did.

When we had arrived, Theo called out, "Stop right there, Camille!"

"What's this? Only two of you? This will be a piece of cake! Rinshi, attack!" Camille ordered, dawning her reptilian form.

"Call to the beast inside! Bring out the cheetah!"

My cheetah animal spirit sprung forward, slashing around a dozen Rinshi.

"Call to the beast inside! Unleash the jaguar!"

Theo's jaguar animal spirit hurtled through the air, spinning around and around. Where another dozen Rinshi once stood, nothing remained.

"You're next, Camille!" I shouted.

"Bring it!" the chameleon replied, brandishing her two daggers.

"Jungle Bo!"

"Jungle Tonfa!"

Theo and I attempted to double team Camille, but she managed to block my bo with one of her daggers, and one of Theo's tonfa with her second dagger. He swung his other tonfa at Camille, but she ducked the attack, kicking Theo in between the shoulder blades. The impact of the kick sent him crashing into me, and we both fell to the ground.

We quickly rose to our feet, and just as we did, we saw that we were about to get lashed by Camille's tongue.

"Lily, look out!" Theo yelled, shoving me out of the way.

When I looked back, I saw him clutching his chest. He dropped first to his knees, and then was lying face down on the ground, his ranger powers having left him.

"Theo!" I screamed, crawling on my hands and knees over to him. I cradled his head in my lap. I could see the anguish written on his face. He looked to be in excruciating pain.

"If he hadn't been morphed, my poison would've killed your little blue friend," Camille commented.

I clenched my fists. "That does it! You're going to pay for that, Camille! Jungle Mace!" I exclaimed.

I swung the mace around and around overhead, and launched it at the villainess. She held up her arms in front of her in the shape of an 'x,' but the sheer force of my attack sent her flying backwards. Camille landed hard on her back.

"I call forth the spirit of the mighty lion!"

I spun on my heels just in time to see Dai Shi's animal spirit. It picked me up in its mouth. Its fangs felt as though they had penetrated my skin. I cried out in agony as the lion spirit roughly shook its head from side to side several times before sending me careening into a cement pillar. The pillar didn't give an inch, and I fell to the ground, landing on my chest. My ranger powers were now gone too.

I gasped for air. It still felt as though the lion's fangs were stabbing me. I looked up to see Dai Shi advancing on me.

"Good-bye, yellow ranger!" Dai Shi said. "I call forth the spirit of the mighty lion!"

I saw the lion spirit dash towards me once more.

"Call to the beast inside! Free the tiger!"

The lion spirit and the tiger spirit engaged in a fierce battle with one another. Both felines were savagely clawing at each other. That could only mean one thing—Casey's back, and I couldn't be any happier.

"Yellow ranger, blue ranger, red ranger, it really doesn't matter who perishes. Since you are so eager to die though, red ranger, it is you who shall be destroyed!" Dai Shi said menacingly.

"I beat you once. I can do it again. With the strength of a tiger—Strike Rider Cruise!" Casey replied.

Casey mounted his bike, revved it up, and said, "Full throttle!"

Dai Shi conjured up a ball of purple energy in his hand. He threw it at Casey. Casey swerved to the left, dodging it in the process. He responded with some laser blasts that nailed Dai Shi square in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

"Strike Rider, high speed! Attack mode—go!" Casey exclaimed as the bike transformed into its most powerful form. The Strike Rider energized as it sailed straight towards Dai Shi.

There was a massive explosion, and Dai Shi was sent flying into the air. His body completed a 1350° revolution before landing on the ground face down. Smoke came out of Dai Shi's armored form before he was forced to power down, reverting to his human form.

He walked over to Camille, hauled her to her feet, and said, "This isn't over red ranger!" The evil duo teleported away.

"Power down," Casey said.

He knelt down beside me. I could feel concern radiating off of him. Even though it took a considerable amount of effort to do so, given my weakened state, I threw my arms around him in a hug. _I may not be a damsel in distress, but I do have a knight in shining armor, and his armor just happens to be red._

To Be Continued…

**A/N: OMG! So this is my first real attempt at writing a battle scene, so don't be too hard on me. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me along the way! Reviews are always welcome, but please don't flame me. **


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: See the previous 20 chapters.**

**A/N: From here on out, until a new episode has aired, unless explicitly stated otherwise, the chapter will take place after the episode 'Way of the Master,' but before the episode 'Good Karma, Bad Karma.'**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Album_

(Casey's POV)

Lily and I were in the living room portion of the loft. We were sharing a beanbag chair. I had an arm wrapped around her shoulders, and she was snuggled up next to me. A scrapbook album lay on my lap.

"How are you doing? Do you want anything?" Lily asked her voice full of concern.

"If you could find a way to bring my parents back to life, that would be great," I answered sadly.

She reached behind me and rubbed small circles in my back. I fought back my tears. Back home, I had to be the strong one for my sisters. As a result, I hadn't shed a single tear the whole time I was home. I didn't want to cry in front of Lily, but I didn't know how much longer I could go on without crying.

"What's that?" Lily inquired pointing to the album on my knees.

"It's a scrap booking album. My mom gave it to me last year for Christmas. She had made one for each of us kids. My mom loved to scrapbook. We even converted the spare bedroom into a scrap booking room for her," I explained as my eyes started to well up with tears.

Lily momentarily stopped rubbing my back and gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She then resumed rubbing my back in a circular fashion.

"Can I see it?" she asked.

I gave an affirmative nod. I was sure that this would only make me miss my parents even more, but I hadn't looked at it since I first got it last Christmas.

I opened the first page, and on it was a picture of me as a baby. It was taken the day I was released from the hospital—my first day at home.

"Aww! You were such a cute baby! Look at those chubby cheeks! I just want to pinch them!" Lily remarked.

I rolled my eyes and quickly turned the page. On the next page, was another of my baby pictures. My mom was holding me in her arms, and I had a bottle in my mouth. Before Lily could even respond, I turned the page again.

On the next page, there was a picture of me and my dad. I was about three years old in this picture. We were standing in a park. I had a baseball glove on my left hand, and was holding a baseball in my right hand.

"My dad is the one who taught me how to play baseball in the first place. He was probably my biggest fan. He never missed a single game," I said. I reached my hand out and touched the part of the picture where my dad was. A single tear rolled down my cheek.

On the next page was a picture of me and my sisters. I was about four years old in this picture. All of us were wearing leotards and tights.

Lily tried her best to suppress her laugh, but failed miserably. "Is that…a leotard?" she asked before succumbing to her overwhelming desire to laugh at me.

"Yes," I replied shamefully.

"Casey, I had no idea," Lily said snickering.

"My mom made us take dance classes when we were little, big deal!" I exclaimed shoving Lily lightly.

Lily was laughing so hard that she nearly fell off the beanbag chair. Now, she started stomping her foot and slapping her knee. I rolled my eyes at her once more. Although I must admit that she managed to bring a smile to my face.

"We should take some dance classes together. You could be my partner," Lily suggested.

"Whatever, Lil. You're so full of it. You probably just want to see me in a leotard," I remarked.

I turned the page. Lily might not ever stop laughing so long as I stayed on that page. The next page was a picture of me on Halloween. I was six years old, and I was dressed up as a red power ranger.

"Ooh! Can we go back to the previous page?" Lily asked excitedly.

"No," I responded.

"Just for a quick peek?"

"No!"

Lily folded her arms across her chest, and pouted her lips. "Fine, but I'm definitely telling Theo, Fran, and RJ about this!"

"You better not!" I warned glaring daggers at her.

"Okay, I won't."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

However, I noticed that as Lily was saying that, she held a hand behind her back and was crossing her fingers. I dismissed this information, and turned the page.

The last page had a picture of my mom and dad cutting a piece of cake together on their silver anniversary. I closed the scrap booking album.

"Casey, look, I know I said some things to you before you left, and I just wanted to say—"

I leaned over and captured her lips in mine. She wrapped her arms around my neck grasping at the hairs on the nape of my neck. I gently placed a hand on each side of her face. Just as she started to return the kiss, I pulled away.

"There's more where that came from so long as you don't tell anyone that I've worn a leotard before," I said.

"Well, in that case, my lips are sealed," Lily replied.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: So, if I'm only doing 40 drabbles, I'm over halfway done! Much thanks to everyone who has supported me along the way. Feel free to leave a review. Please don't flame me.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: Disney owns Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making a profit by writing this. "Can't Fight the Moonlight" is a song by LeAnn Rimes. The lyrics of the song are in **_**italics**_**.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Song_

_Under a lovers' sky_

_Gonna be with you_

_And no one's gonna be around_

_If you think that you won't fall_

_Well just wait until_

'_Til the sun goes down_

_Underneath the starlight—starlight_

_There's a magical feeling—so right_

_It will steal your heart tonight_

_You can try to resist_

_Try to hide from my kiss_

_But you know_

_But you know that you can't fight the moonlight_

_Deep in the dark_

_You'll surrender your heart_

_But you know_

_But you know that you can't fight the moonlight_

_No, you can't fight it_

_It's gonna get to your heart_

Lily and Casey were in a park lying on a red and white checkered blanket under the midnight blue night sky. They had just got off work after closing, and came to a park for a picnic. Casey had also brought a bunch of candles with him in the picnic basket, and just finished lighting them.

(Flashback)

"So Lily, do you have any plans tonight?" Casey asked.

"Nope," Lily answered.

"What would you say to a picnic at the park?"

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Depends. Is that a yes?"

"Of course!" Lily shouted. She cleared her throat, lowered her voice and added, "I mean yeah, sure. Whatever."

(End Flashback)

"Wow! You really went all out!" Lily remarked.

Casey pulled the food out of the picnic basket. There was fried chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, biscuits, baked beans, a couple cans of soda, and brownies.

"Yeah, I was slaving in the kitchen all morning before my shift started," Casey stated.

"Really? I had no idea you could cook! This is so incredibly romantic!" Lily commented.

_There's no escape from love_

_Once a gentle breeze_

_Weaves its spell upon your heart_

_No matter what you think_

_It won't be too long_

'_Til you're in my arms_

_Underneath the starlight—starlight_

_We'll be lost in the rhythm—so right_

_Feel it steal your heart tonight_

_You can try to resist_

_Try to hide from my kiss_

_But you know_

_But you know that you can't fight the moonlight_

_Deep in the dark_

_You'll surrender your heart_

_But you know_

_But you know that you can't fight the moonlight_

_No, you can't fight it_

_No matter what you do_

_The night is gonna get to you_

"Everything was so delicious. I'm having such a wonderful time with you tonight," Lily said.

She was resting her head on Casey's chest listening to the pitter patter of his heart. Both were looking up at the twinkling stars above them. There was a big blue full moon that illuminated the dark sky.

"Next time we'll have to try your cooking," Casey stated.

"I don't know about that. There's a reason why RJ never has me work in the kitchen," Lily replied.

"Uh, on second thought, maybe I don't want to try your cooking."

"Good answer."

Casey grinned an enormous grin, and Lily smiled back, playfully socking him in the shoulder.

The air was brisk causing Lily to shiver. Seeing this, Casey took off his jacket, and wrapped it around her shoulders.

_Don't try, oh_

_Never gonna win, oh_

_Underneath the starlight—starlight_

_There's a magical feeling—so right_

_It will steal your heart tonight_

_You can try to resist_

_Try to hide from my kiss_

_But you know_

_But you know that you can't fight the moonlight_

_Deep in the dark_

_You'll surrender your heart_

_But you know_

_But you know that you can't fight the moonlight_

_No, you can't fight it_

"So, what made you change your mind about me? I mean, I thought I was like a little brother to you?" Casey asked.

Lily chuckled nervously. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was just scared. I hadn't been on a date since before I attended the Pai Zhuq Academy. Plus, I didn't want things to be awkward if things didn't work out between us," she explained.

"Who says things won't work out?" Casey replied.

Lily and Casey gazed into each other's eyes. Her cheeks started to become flushed. No one had ever looked at her the way Casey was.

_You can try to resist_

_Try to hide from my kiss_

_But you know_

_Don't you know that you can't fight the moonlight_

_Deep in the dark_

_You'll surrender your heart_

_But you know_

_But you know that you can't fight the moonlight_

_No, you can't fight it_

_It's gonna get to your heart_

"Hey, look! A shooting star. Make a wish," Casey said.

"Why? My wish already came true," Lily responded.

"Oh, really? What did you wish for?"

"I can't tell you or else it won't come true."

"But I thought you said that it already came true?"

"I think you know what I wished for."

"I think so too, but I've been wrong about these things before."

"Can't Fight the Moonlight" started playing on the portable cd player/stereo Casey had brought along.

"I didn't know you like this kind of music," Lily commented.

"Up until today, you didn't know I cooked either. What can I say? I'm full of surprises," Casey said.

Lily noticed that Casey had a bit of brownie just above his upper lip.

"You have some brownie on your face," she pointed out.

"Where?" Casey inquired.

Lily leaned in and kissed Casey on the lips. "Got it."

The two rangers weren't alone in the park though. Also in the park was a pale skinned woman with raven hair pulled up into a bun.

"Wait until Dai Shi hears about this!" she said excitedly.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: So, this is the result of me having watched the movie ****Coyote Ugly**** this past weekend and wanting to somehow make this chapter kind of like a songfic. Sorry if it sucks. I'm just trying something new. Thanks to everyone who has supported me along the way. Reviews are always welcome. Please don't flame me though.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making a profit by writing this.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Darkness_

"Dai Shi," Camille said in a sing-song voice.

Dai Shi grunted. "This had better be good. No one interrupts my naps!"

The chameleon walked up to Dai Shi and stroked his bicep. She traced a long fingernail over his chest using her other hand.

"I saw the red ranger and yellow ranger kissing in the park last night," Camille stated.

"You're just now telling me this? Can't you do _anything_ right?" Dai Shi retorted furiously.

Camille looked a bit taken aback. "I know how much you want revenge on the red ranger. We can use this new information to our advantage so you can get your revenge."

As soon as Camille had mentioned the red ranger, Dai Shi clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. An orb of purple energy crackled in each fist.

"I like how you think. Maybe you aren't completely useless after all. Yes, the red ranger will pay for getting me kicked out of the Academy and humiliating me!" Dai Shi remarked.

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

Casey was in the back making pizzas when his sunglasses that doubled as a communicator started beeping. He put them on and pushed a button on the side.

"Rangers, come and get me," Camille said.

Casey rushed out to the dining room section of the pizza parlor.

"Lily, Theo, we have to go," Casey stated.

As Lily and Theo scrambled out the front door, Fran put her hands on her hips and gave an exasperated sigh.

"Don't tell me. Something just came up and you three need to go and take care of it," Fran guessed.

"You got it. Thanks, Fran," Casey replied.

As the rangers went to face Camille, they didn't know that a black stretch limo was following them. Inside the limo was none other than Lacey.

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

"Jungle beast, spirit unleashed!" the trio of teenagers said in unison morphing into the power rangers.

"With the strength of a tiger—Jungle Fury, red ranger!" Casey said striking his pose.

Camille took a seat on the park bench and crossed her legs.

"With the stealth of a jaguar—Jungle Fury, blue ranger!" Theo said striking his pose.

Camille now took out an emery board and was filing her nails, blowing on them every now and then.

"With the speed of a cheetah—Jungle Fury, yellow ranger!" Lily said striking her pose.

Camille stood up, put her emery board away, and asked, "Do you still have more posing to do or can we get on with the fight?"

The chameleon got her answer soon enough as she was sent staggering backwards courtesy of stereo roundhouse kicks to the chest by Theo and Lily. Casey tried to sweep her legs out from under her, but she avoided the attack by jumping over Casey's leg.

"Where are the rest of the goons?" Theo asked.

"I don't need any Rinshi to destroy you!" Camille retorted brandishing her two daggers.

Unbeknownst to them all, Lacey was in her limo snapping pictures using the camera feature of her cell phone. She had learned from her past mistake, and was taking the pictures herself. Not only that, but she was taking pictures every chance she got. As it turned out, Todd was fired, and so now she had a new limo driver; one that Lacey hoped wouldn't betray her the way that Todd did.

The rangers had Camille surrounded. She spun around whilst holding her arms out slashing all three rangers repeatedly with her daggers. They tumbled to the ground in different directions as sparks flew off their ranger suits.

The chameleon extended her tongue, wrapping it around Casey's torso. She used it to flip him onto his back.

"Jungle Mace!"

Lily swung her weapon around and around before launching it at Camille. She sidestepped the attack and separated the ball from the chain by slashing the chain with one of her daggers.

The villainess leapt into the air and sent a shower of daggers crashing into all three rangers. The heroes got reacquainted with the ground and were soon picking themselves up off it once more.

Casey cupped his hands. Lily ran towards him, and he catapulted her into the air. She grabbed hold of Camille on her way down and threw her, sending her tumbling on the ground. As Camille rose to her feet, she managed to catch Lily off guard by sweeping her legs out from underneath her.

Theo and Casey rushed to Lily's aide, but didn't quite make it there.

"I call forth the spirit of the mighty lion!"

Dai Shi's lion animal spirit furiously clawed at the red and blue rangers knocking them to the ground. Smoke started to come out of their ranger suits.

Dai Shi hauled Lily to her feet, and sent her staggering backwards with an open palm slap. He followed that up with a knee to the solar plexus, doubling Lily over. Dai Shi sent her to the ground with an elbow to the back.

"Leave her alone!" Casey and Theo shouted simultaneously.

Both male rangers ran over to where Lily was. Dai Shi wouldn't let them get anywhere near her though. He conjured up a ball of purple energy in his fist and launched it at them.

"Look out!" Theo screamed, shoving Casey out of the way.

Casey saw Theo take the full force of the attack. The blue ranger's knees buckled, and his prone form lay face down on the ground. His ranger powers had left him.

"Junglechucks!"

Casey channeled his animal spirit, powering up his weapon. He sent an attack straight towards Camille and Dai Shi. At the very last split second, Dai Shi hauled Lily to her feet and used her as a shield. Lily collapsed to the ground returning to her civilian form.

"Good job, red ranger. You did our job for us!" Camille remarked.

Casey clenched his fists together. "That does it! With the strength of a tiger—Strike Rider Cruise!" He got on his bike, revved it up, and said, "Strike rider, high speed! Attack mode—go!"

His bike transformed into a longer, more aerodynamic form. It energized and barreled towards Camille and Dai Shi. Dai Shi conjured up balls of purple energy in his hands and shot one after another at the red ranger.

After several misses, one of them managed to nail the red ranger's bike. There was a huge explosion and Casey and his bike were sent careening through the air. There was no place for Casey to go but wherever his bike went. Because of the mode his bike was in, he was essentially trapped in that position.

The red ranger landed with the weight of his bike crashing down on top of him. His bike vanished as did his ranger powers. Casey lay there motionless.

Dai Shi scooped Lily up and flung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He and Camille teleported away with Lily in tow.

"No! Come back!" Theo shouted as he made a pitiful attempt to rise to his feet.

In her limo, Lacey's jaw had dropped, and she said, "I can't believe the power rangers _lost_."

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Oy! So another battle scene. It had to be done for me to get where I wanted to go with the story. I'm up to over 200 reviews and this story has had over 10,000 hits. None of this would be possible without the amazing support I have received from my readers and reviewers, so thank you so, so much! Feel free to leave me a review. No flames please. **


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: Disney owns Power Rangers Jungle Fury. This is a non-profit story. **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Duty_

At Dai Shi's lair, Lily's ankles and wrists were chained up to a wall. She looked like a star. Her arms were fully extended and parallel with her shoulders. Her legs were split apart at roughly a 45° angle.

"The others will come for me," Lily stated.

"Oh, we're counting on that. _Especially_ that boyfriend of yours," Dai Shi replied.

Lily's breath caught in her throat, and the air suddenly felt rather chilly.

"Leave him alone!" Lily yelled.

"Or what? Look at yourself. There's nothing you can do to stop us!" Dai Shi responded.

Lily squirmed in a desperate attempt to break free from her chains, but it was to no avail. Eventually, she tired herself out as Dai Shi and Camille watched on with amused expressions on their faces.

"What are you going to do with me?" Lily asked, breathing heavily.

"Rather than tell you, why don't I show you?" Dai Shi answered before armoring up. "I call forth the spirit of the mighty lion!"

Lily's eyes widened in terror as the lion leapt at her. It lowered its head and sank its teeth into the ribs on Lily's right side of her body. The lion gnawed on her ribs like they were a rawhide.

Lily squeezed her eyes shut as tight as she possibly could. Tears cascaded down her face. Her pained screams reverberated off the walls of the lair.

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

Back at the loft, Theo and Casey were standing behind RJ's recliner. Theo was lucky to have escaped the last battle with just some cuts and bruises. Casey, on the other hand, was sporting a neck brace.

The myriad monitors started beeping. Camille appeared on screen.

"Red ranger, if you ever want to see your girlfriend again, then come and face me, and come alone," Camille announced.

As soon as the message ended, Theo saw Casey head for the door. He grabbed Casey by the arm, bringing him to an abrupt stop.

"Ouch! What did you do that for?" Casey retorted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You're in no shape to go anywhere!" Theo exclaimed.

"What are you talking about? I'm fine!"

"Who are you kidding? The slightest movement causes you unbearable pain!"

"I wouldn't say 'unbearable!' Besides, you heard what Camille said; we won't be able to get Lily back unless I go and face her."

"No, you stay here, and I'll go save her!"

"No, _you_ stay here, and _I_ will go save her!"

"It's my duty as her best friend!"

"It's my duty as her boyfriend!"

Theo and Casey both shot each other dirty looks. They had reached an impasse, and neither of them was budging.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. You're the big, strong tiger. A big, strong tiger that in the last battle nearly got his neck broken. What good are you in battle with a neck brace? You're practically useless!" Theo remarked.

Casey looked hurt by Theo's words.

"Casey, I—"

"Just go, Theo! I wouldn't want my _useless_ self to hold you back!"

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

Theo found Camille on a promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The waters were some fifty to sixty feet below them.

"Camille, give Lily back!" Theo shouted.

"Blue ranger? You're not the one I wanted," Camille commented.

"Too bad, because I'm the one you got. Jungle Tonfa!"

Camille took out her two daggers. "Well then, let's do this!"

Theo charged forward. The two used their respective weapons to parry the other's attacks. They matched one another blow for blow, but none of them found their mark.

Camille lashed out her tongue at point-blank range. This time, Theo was ready for her. He did a back flip, kicking Camille right underneath the jaw with his feet. She stumbled backwards a few paces, holding her jaw.

Camille leapt into the air, and daggers rained from the sky like hail. Theo tried to evade them, but there were far too many. Several slashed him in numerous locations—shoulders, arms, chest, stomach, legs, neck, and back.

Theo rolled on the ground, coming dangerously close to rolling right off the promontory. As he rose to his feet, his foot slipped, kicking a pebble off the cliff. Theo looked behind him, realizing for the first time what a precarious position he was in.

When Theo, turned back around, he found that Camille's tongue was secured firmly around his waist. Just as he was about to bring his Jungle Tonfa down on her tongue, she sent him spinning through the air.

Theo tried to grab hold of the promontory as he began to make his descent. If his fingers were longer, he would have been able to, but unfortunately for him, he was a couple of centimeters away.

Camille walked over to the end of the promontory, and peered over the edge. She saw the blue ranger flailing his arms about. The chameleon watched as his image got smaller and smaller.

"Farewell, blue ranger," Camille said quite pleased with her handiwork.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: After much indecision on my part, this is the scenario I ultimately decided to go with for this chapter. I had another scenario in my head, but alas, it wasn't to be. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all my readers and reviewers. I don't feel like I'm even worthy of all your kindness. If you do decide to leave me a review, constructive criticism is always welcome, but not flames. **


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making a profit by writing this.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Quest_

(Theo's POV)

The impact of my body hitting the water caused me to de-morph. I felt myself sink deeper and deeper, but despite my best efforts, I couldn't get my body to move. I held my breath, hoping that someone would save me. Who would save me though? Casey was on the shelf, and Lily was captured.

As I thought about my teammates, one thought took precedence. _I had failed them. _When I, instead of Casey, came to face Camille, he counted on me to bring Lily back. _How can I face him? How can I return without Lily?_

I wondered if I would ever see my best friend again. Lily and I had been through so much together. She was the only one who befriended me at the Pai Zhuq Academy. We had a symbiotic relationship—I kept her focused, and level-headed. She helped me to loosen up and not be so serious all the time. _What kind of a best friend am I if I can't rescue her when she needs me most?_

I had no idea how long I had been holding my breath, but I couldn't hold my breath any longer. I gasped for the precious air my lungs needed. Little air bubbles came out of my mouth and did the one thing I could not—ascend.

I saw a bright light, and if I could move, my hands would have shielded my eyes from it. Since I couldn't, I just squinted. I felt something grab me and start to pull me upwards. It wasn't long before I had resurfaced. Soon, I found myself on solid ground. Standing before me, I saw Master Mao's spirit.

"I told you I would watch over you. It is not your time to leave this planet. You still have a mission to accomplish," Master Mao said.

Just like that, he disappeared. I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Someone was running towards me.

"It's all right, Theo. It's me, RJ. Whoa! You look like you just saw a ghost," RJ stated.

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

(Lily's POV)

I woke up to find myself still chained up. My body was slumped forward. My right ribcage felt like it was on fire. I must have passed out from the pain. My throat was parched and my stomach growled.

I couldn't figure out what Camille and Dai Shi wanted with me. I shuddered to think what they were going to do with me. If Dai Shi sicking his lion on me was any indication, I was in for a world of hurt.

Then I remembered something Dai Shi had said to me earlier. He mentioned me having a boyfriend, and expecting my boyfriend to come. _How did they know about Casey and me? Am I just bait? _

As horrible as things were for me, they would be about ten times worse for Casey. When Dai Shi first revealed himself to us, he made no bones about him wanting revenge on Casey. I didn't know what Dai Shi had in store for Casey—whether he wanted him to suffer or whether he wanted to kill him quickly. I'd hate for either to happen to Casey.

This wasn't fair. Casey and I just had our first date. Now, we were already separated. How I longed to be in his arms, to see his face, to kiss his soft lips. I would gladly volunteer to remain prisoner if it meant that Casey wouldn't be harmed.

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

(Casey's POV)

I was starting to get restless. Every second that ticked by, I grew more and more worried about Lily's well-being. There was no telling what Camille and Dai Shi were doing to her. For all I know, she could be d—no, I refuse to believe that. Lily's tough. She's a fighter. She'll find a way to pull through.

"Ow! I think I pinched a nerve, or maybe even broke my back!" Theo exclaimed as RJ bandaged him up.

"I can't take it anymore! I'm going to save Lily! Are you coming or not, Theo?" I demanded.

"You're kidding, right? I'm in worse shape than you! At least you can move!" Theo countered.

I turned my attention to RJ, who backed up a couple of steps.

"Uh, no. I have a business to run," RJ said.

"So what? You're an amazing fighter!" I retorted.

"I'm not a ranger."

"You're her master! She's your student! Unbelievable! You two are _abandoning _Lily!"

I clenched my teeth, grabbed a vine, and swung out of the loft trying not to think about how much pain that caused me. _I don't need them anyways! I'll save Lily myself!_

I returned to the spot where I last saw Camille.

"Camille! I came alone just like you wanted. Show yourself!" I shouted.

After several agonizingly long minutes that felt more like hours, Camille appeared. She was in her reptilian form.

"What's this? Aren't you going to morph?" she asked.

"No. I'm not here to fight. I'll come with you if you let Lily go," I said.

"Very well."

She grabbed me by the wrist, and teleported the two of us away. I knew that this move was either really brave or really foolish. I hoped it wasn't the latter.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Yay! A new episode of Power Rangers Jungle Fury is airing tomorrow! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me thus far. Feel free to leave me a review. No flames please. **


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury. I am not making any profit by writing this.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Distraction_

(Camille's POV)

I led the red ranger to the dungeons, and along the way we passed the chained up yellow ranger.

"Lily!" the red ranger shouted, heading off in her direction.

"Casey!" the yellow ranger yelled back.

I snapped my fingers, and around four dozen Rinshi got in between the two rangers. The red ranger reached for his sunglasses, but couldn't find them. _I'm not stupid_. I had very carefully snatched his sunglasses from him while we were walking.

"Get him, Rinshi!" I ordered.

Casey punched a Rinshi in the chest, sending him flying. He brought his arm back and elbowed a second Rinshi, knocking it backwards. The red ranger then swept the legs out from underneath a third Rinshi.

One Rinshi punched Casey in between the shoulder blades, causing Casey to fall to his knees. He cried out in pain, and massaged the back of his neck. _That's it!_

"Rinshi, target his neck!" I commanded spotting the neck brace he was wearing.

Casey went for a kick, but the Rinshi caught his leg. With his free leg, the red ranger ran up the Rinshi, kicked off him, and did a back flip. He kicked another Rinshi in the back of the knee, resulting in that Rinshi kicking another Rinshi. Casey threw the first Rinshi into two more as they all fell on top of one another.

A Rinshi grabbed both of Casey's arms, and held them behind him. The red ranger struggled to break free, which only caused his neck more pain. He bit his lip so that he wouldn't scream out in pain. Casey reached back with his leg, hooked his leg around the Rinshi's right leg, and jerked his leg forward making the Rinshi fall on his back.

Casey sent another Rinshi airborne with an open palm slap. _How is he doing this? He's wearing a neck brace for crying out loud!_

A Rinshi kicked the red ranger in the back of the knee dropping him to both knees. That same Rinshi then kicked Casey in the back of the neck. The red ranger lay face down on the floor. Two Rinshi forced him to his feet, each of them holding one of his arms.

"No!" Lily yelled struggling desperately against her restraints.

"Take him to the dungeons!" I instructed.

The Rinshi took the red ranger away, while I stayed to chat with the yellow ranger. I paced back and forth in front of her.

"You know, I am _supposed_ to let you go. Your boyfriend and I made an agreement. I take him prisoner if I let you go. However, your boyfriend is naïve. You see, you should _never_ trust your enemy," I said.

"He would do that for me?" Lily asked.

"I hope you took a nice long look at him, because that is the last time you will _ever_ see him if Dai Shi and I have anything to say about it," I remarked.

She squirmed and squirmed, but her restraints wouldn't let her go anywhere. If looks could kill, I'd be pushing up daisies.

(Casey's POV)

I was in a holding cell. They didn't even bother to chain me up. I guess they figured I was too weak to pose much of a threat, and they were probably right. _If it wasn't for this stupid neck brace!_

The door to my holding cell opened up, and I saw a Rinshi shove Lily in. I caught her in my arms. The Rinshi then shut the holding cell, locking it behind him before leaving.

I couldn't believe it. Here I was holding Lily in my arms. I had missed her so much. I felt so guilty for not being able to save her before. I would never allow that to happen again. I would die for Lily.

I held her face in my hands and kissed her on the lips passionately. She returned the kiss with comparable passion.

(Camille's POV)

It felt so good to be kissed. I hadn't been kissed in over ten thousand years. Of course, back then it was Dai Shi that kissed me, but that was when he had a different host for a body.

I started to see why the yellow ranger liked the red ranger. He was an amazing kisser. I daresay he is even a better kisser than Dai Shi. _Who cares if I'm thousands of years older than Casey? _Ever since I came out of the wall, after being stuck there for over ten thousand years, I had practically been throwing myself at Dai Shi, and he wouldn't even return my advances.

I followed his orders without question. I protected him from that treacherous snake, Naja. He said I was his most favored. However, he didn't seem to be the least bit interested in me.

Usually, I only see the rangers when they're morphed, so this was the first time I really got a good look at Casey. He certainly was easy on the eyes.

He pulled his head back stopping our kiss much to my dismay.

"You're not Lily!" he exclaimed.

To Be Continued…

**A/N:** **Just so you know, to some extent, this is the other scenario I had in mind for Chapter 24. Granted, it was a little different, but the premise is pretty much the same. To everyone who has supported me thus far, no matter how, you are awesome! Reviews are always welcome, but remember I have pyrophobia. **


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I do not own PRJF. I am not making a profit by writing this. **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Time_

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm Lily!" Camille exclaimed.

"No, you're not. I've kissed Lily before, and she's kissed me, and that—that was horrible!" Casey commented wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

Camille turned back into her normal human form.

"So I'm a little out of practice. It's been awhile since I've done that," Camille stated.

"A little out of practice? That's the understatement of the year!" Casey replied.

"Shut up! I could destroy you right here right now!"

To prove her point, Camille armored up, and Casey backed up a few steps.

"Too bad you don't have your morpher," the chameleon remarked.

Camille wrapped her tongue around Casey's midsection, and squeezed as tight as she could. The red ranger tried to catch his breath all the while attempting to untangle himself from Camille's tongue.

"I thought the red ranger was supposed to be the tough one. Rookie!" Camille commented.

Casey tugged on Camille's tongue bringing her towards him. In one fluid motion, he landed a kick to her face. The villainess fell backwards, and lay face up on the ground. He was no longer ensnared by her tongue.

The red ranger went to the door of his holding cell and found a padlock there. There were two Rinshi standing sentry. As soon as they heard the commotion, they started to unlock the padlock on the holding cell.

Casey reached his fist through the bars and punched the one not unlocking the lock in the face knocking him out. Once the holding cell was unlocked, the other Rinshi came in only to get his legs swept out from under him by Casey. The Rinshi was folded up like an accordion when it landed.

The tiger had a pretty good idea of the layout of Dai Shi's fortress—at least what he's seen when the Rinshi were walking him to the dungeons. At any rate, he was able to retrace his steps back to Lily.

"Casey! Am I glad to see you! Are you okay? How did you escape? How's your neck?" Lily asked firing off one question after another.

"You don't have to worry about me. Look, there's not much time. I have an idea," Casey said as he was looking in the pouch attached to her side for her sunglasses. Luckily, Camille hadn't taken hers away. Casey took them out, put them on Lily, and pushed a button on the side.

"Jungle beast, spirit unleashed!" Lily called out as she morphed into the yellow ranger. As she morphed, it gave her a boost of power that allowed her to free herself from her chains.

There was the sound of a slow applause. Dai Shi emerged from the shadows clapping his hands.

"Bravo! This is quite a show you two are putting on, and to think, you _almost_ escaped. I'm afraid I just can't allow that though," the evil villain said as he morphed.

The heroes found themselves surrounded. Camille was behind them. Lily protectively stood in front of Casey.

"I'll distract them while you get out of here," she said.

"No way! I'll hold them off while you escape!" Casey countered.

"None of you are leaving!" Dai Shi roared as he blasted both rangers with a ball of purple energy.

Casey and Lily went flying through the air and crashed through a wall. The fall only exacerbated her injured ribs. She pulled herself up to her feet all the while favoring her ribs. Lily looked down at her boyfriend. His neck brace had come off during the fall, and he was curled up in almost a fetal position on the ground. His eyes were closed.

Lily curled both of her hands into fists. "Jungle Bo!"

"Now, now, yellow ranger. We can either do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. The easy way is you put down your weapon and you and your boyfriend go back to being our prisoners without anyone getting hurt. The hard way is you put up a fight, lose, and then we make you watch as we beat up your boyfriend in front of you. So, what's it going to be?" Dai Shi asked.

"I'll go with none of the above!" Lily replied as she leapt through the air with her Jungle Bo poised to strike Dai Shi.

However, Dai Shi was ready for her. He leapt through the air, fully extended his arm, and nailed the yellow ranger with a lariat while airborne. The impact of the blow turned her inside out. Her body did a sort of moonsault before it crashed on the floor below. She landed face down. The fall knocked the wind out of her, and a sharp pain emanated from her ribs.

"I call forth the spirit of the mighty lion!" Dai Shi exclaimed.

"Would it kill you to come up with some different attacks? Bring out the cheetah!" Lily replied as she picked herself up off the ground

Their animal spirits did battle, viciously clawing at one another. Lily swung her Jungle Bo around her head as a jolt of electricity shot out of it and zapped Dai Shi. He staggered backwards a few steps.

Camille wrapped her tongue around Lily's ribcage, and squeezed. The yellow ranger dropped her Jungle Bo as it clattered on the floor. If her ribs weren't injured before, they very well may be now.

The chameleon took out her two daggers, and tossed them into the air. Dai Shi jumped up, grabbed them, did a front flip, and slashed the yellow ranger in the shape of an 'x' with them. She fell first to her knees, and then lay face down on the floor, her ranger powers leaving her, and her cheetah animal spirit disappearing. Camille retracted her tongue.

"Dai Shi, I was thinking that we don't _really_ need to keep the yellow ranger prisoner anymore. I mean holding her prisoner wasn't a part of the plan. She was just supposed to be the bait," Camille said as both she and Dai Shi powered down.

Dai Shi backhand slapped Camille with such intensity that she fell on her butt. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Never question my orders! Neither of them is leaving! Next time, I won't treat your insubordination with such kindness," Dai Shi warned as he walked away from Camille.

Camille beckoned forth some Rinshi to chain Lily back up, and throw Casey back in the holding cell. She rubbed her jawbone with her hand. The chameleon transformed herself into a Lily look alike and teleported to Ocean Bluff.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: I'm sorry that it took me slightly longer to get this chapter up. What can I say? I had a bunch of different scenarios in my head, and I was just fleshing them all out before settling on one. Thank you so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, and all that jazz. Feel free to leave me a review. No flames please, but constructive criticism is welcome. **


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: See the previous 27 chapters.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Gift_

(Theo's POV)

With Casey and Lily gone, we were a bit understaffed at Jungle Karma Pizza. RJ was in the back making pizzas, and Fran and I were both waiters. As it turned out, I had only pinched a nerve in my back.

"Weren't Casey and Lily supposed to work today? Where are they?" Fran asked.

"They're feeling under the weather," I lied. _What was I supposed to say, Dai Shi is keeping them prisoner? _

"Oh, that's too bad. Would you mind telling them that they're in my thoughts, and I hope they get well soon?"

"Sure," I said. _Although I don't know how. It's not like I'll be seeing them anytime soon. _

Today happened to be the second Tuesday of the month. I was saddened by the significance of that. This is usually the day when Lily and I go out and try a new lunch spot. Only, I don't really see that happening today.

The absolute last person I wanted to see walked in through the front door—Lacey. I wondered what brought her here. Did she have some new material with which to blackmail us? Or maybe she planned on continuing her quest to break up Casey and Lily so that she could have Casey all to herself.

"Hey—_you_!" she said to me.

"It's Theo," I stated.

"Right. Whatever. Can I have a word with you outside?"

"What if I say no?"

"Hey everyone, do you want to hear a secret?" Lacey shouted.

I shushed her. "Okay, so let's talk."

I followed her outside, and after she checked to make sure the coast was clear, she turned to face me.

"How's Casey? Were you able to find Lily?" she asked.

_Wait a second. How did she know about that? Did she follow us again? _"What are you talking about?" I asked though I knew perfectly well what she meant.

"Don't play dumb with me, what was your name again?"

"Theo!" _How many times do I have to tell her?!_

"As you probably know, I'm rich. I could hire the best detectives and private investigators in Ocean Bluff to help find her." _Say what?_

"Why would you do that?"

"I know how important Lily is to Casey, so I would be willing to do just about anything to help find her."

"Oh, I get it. You want to help Lily by extension. What you _really_ want to do is to try and impress Casey."

Lacey scoffed. I gave her a knowing look. "Guilty as charged," she said.

"No offense, but I don't think all the private investigators and detectives in the world could help find Casey and Lily," I stated before putting a hand on my mouth and realizing that I had slipped up.

"Wait, they have Casey too?" she asked. _Me and my big mouth!_

"Look, this doesn't concern you and don't you dare tell anyone about any of this—Lily?" I said.

"It's Lacey!" Lacey exclaimed.

I brushed past Lacey and ran towards my best friend. I threw my arms around her in a hug. Words cannot express how happy and relieved I felt at that moment. Having her back was better than any gift I could ever receive.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Okay, so this is back to around the length these drabbles are **_**supposed**_** to be. I know this chapter was kind of filler, but we'll get back to the Casey and Lily torture all in due time. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me along the way. **


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: PRJF is the property of Disney, and last I checked, I'm not Disney. I'm not making a profit by writing this because let's face it; I wouldn't even know who to go to in order to do so. **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Power_

Lily saw Dai Shi walk into the room. He was pulling something behind him that was attached to a rope. The yellow ranger was horrified to see that the other end of the rope was wrapped around the throat of her boyfriend in a tight knot. He had his arms tied behind his back with rope. His ankles were shackled together. Casey's face was starting to turn a sickly purplish color.

"Stop it! Can't you see he can't breathe?" Lily screamed.

The lion walked over to the tiger and undid the knot. The tiger coughed a hacking cough as his lungs desperately tried to take in the oxygen they needed.

Dai Shi sat on top of the red ranger's chest causing him to scream out in agony for the pain it caused his arms, which were tied behind him.

"Leave him alone!" Lily pleaded, tears streaming down her face.

Dai Shi balled his hands up into fists and hit Casey with rights and lefts, his neck snapping to the left and to the right with each and every blow. The sound of the red ranger's pained screams could be heard in every inch of Dai Shi's lair.

"Stop! Please stop!" Lily cried out, her tears beginning to blur her vision. Still, she could hear how much pain her boyfriend was in.

Black and blue welts the size of baseballs had already started to form on both of Casey's temples.

"You got me kicked out of the Pai Zhuq Academy! You humiliated me! Never before in my life have I been more humiliated!" Dai Shi yelled his eyes full of hatred.

"No, Jarrod! You want to blame someone for your getting expelled from the Academy? Take a look in the mirror!" Lily countered.

The yellow ranger tried with all her might to free herself from her chains, but it was no use. She could taste the saltiness of her own tears as some tears leaked into her mouth.

Dai Shi left the red ranger for the time being and stormed over to Lily. He backhand slapped her across the face with such power it sounded like a gunshot went off.

"Lies! You and I both know that _he_ is the reason I got kicked out! _He_ is the one who replaced _me_!" Dai Shi hollered, his face centimeters away from Lily's.

In the meantime, Casey was struggling to get to his feet. He had been ever since he saw Dai Shi slap Lily. Without being able to properly use his limbs, he kept flopping back down on the floor.

Dai Shi armored up. He took several strides backwards, not taking his eyes off the yellow ranger the whole time.

"I call forth the spirit of the mighty lion!"

This time, the lion animal spirit slashed its claws again and again. Its claws were so massive that every blow struck a good portion of Lily's torso. Now, it was Lily that was screaming out in pain.

"No!" Casey cried out.

The red ranger channeled his animal spirit and let out a roar not unlike the one he let out when he first met Jarrod. Dai Shi was knocked to the ground, his lion animal spirit disappearing.

"Big mistake!" Dai Shi exclaimed as he picked himself up off the floor.

A ball of purple energy crackled in his fist. Rather than just shooting a ball of energy at Casey, he shot a constant stream of energy at him. The red ranger bit his lip hard not wanting to give the sadist the satisfaction of knowing that he was hurting him anymore. Casey's lip started to bleed because he was biting it so hard. His body writhed in pain, and Dai Shi refused to cease the attack.

"Quit it! Let him go! You can do whatever you want to me, just let Casey go!" Lily cried out.

Only Dai Shi wasn't stopping, and his eyes shone with murderous intentions as he showed both the red ranger and the yellow ranger just how much power he possessed.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Wow! I can't believe that I'm now up to over 300 reviews! I didn't really have high hopes for this story when I started it. I just wrote it because I wanted to. I never imagined it would be this well received. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much to everyone who has supported me so far. Now for a shameless promotion. I recently wrote a one-shot titled, "Two Fingers of Poison, One Ranger." It's a little different than this story. Okay, a lot different than this story. If you haven't already, you should check it out. **


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Jungle Fury although I would like to write a nasty letter to the producers telling them off for not giving us any more Casey/Lily scenes since 'A Taste of Poison.' I am not making a profit by writing this.**

**A/N: This takes place at the same time as Chapter 28 (Power) just at Ocean Bluff rather than at Dai Shi's temple/lair. **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Routine_

(Theo's POV)

I had just clocked out for my forty-five minute lunch break. Lily was waiting for me outside. I still couldn't believe she was back. It was almost too good to be true. I was so excited that I felt like a kid at a candy store. I walked outside to find Lily standing in the patio.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you are back. Now we can still do our lunch—appointment," I said.

"Lunch appointment?"

"Yeah. Don't tell me you forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"It's the second Tuesday of the month."

"Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine."

I was shocked that Lily had forgotten about our routine. Ever since we started living in Ocean Bluff, the second Tuesday of every month, she and I would try out a new lunch spot. It was practically a tradition.

"So anyways, I was thinking of checking out this café on the corner of 3rd Street and A Street. I heard they have the best milkshakes in town," I stated.

"Yeah, sure. That sounds fine."

My jaw dropped and my eyes widened so much, that I wouldn't be surprised if my eyeballs nearly fell out of their sockets.

"Are you sure you're fine?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Usually, we have this huge debate where we suggest several different places before finally agreeing on one."

"Oh. Well, milkshakes sound good, so let's go to that café."

Something was definitely wrong with this picture. It was like our dynamic around each other had changed. It was almost as if she never spoke unless spoken to, and that wasn't like the Lily I knew at all.

"Who are you and what have you done with Lily?" I asked.

Out of nowhere, a bunch of Rinshi appeared, and surrounded us. I didn't like our odds, but I knew a good way to even the odds. I reached into the pouch at my side and pulled out my sunglasses. Lily did the same.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready."

"Jungle beast, spirit unleashed!" we said in unison morphing.

"Jungle Tonfa!"

"Jungle Bo!"

Just as I was about to go and attack some Rinshi, I felt what I could only assume was Lily's Jungle Bo strike me in the back of my head. I fell to the ground, my ranger powers leaving me. Someone rolled me over with their foot, and the last thing I saw before I slipped into unconsciousness was a morphed Lily towering over me.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, put my story on their favorite story list, added my story to their story alert list, put me on their favorite author list, and added me to their author alert list. Now, for another shameless promotion. Early this morning, I wrote a short Casey/Lily one shot called "I Wasn't Expecting That!" I'd love to hear what you think of it. I don't know if anyone has come up with a name for the Casey/Lily pairing, but I took the liberty of coming up with one myself, Caly. What do you think? Anyways, thank you for reading!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: Disney owns Power Rangers Jungle Fury. With as much as I'm saying this, that fact is starting to depress me. I am not making a profit by writing this. Constantly reminding myself of this isn't helping my depression either. **

**A/N: This takes place after Chapter 29 (Power) and is back to Dai Shi's lair.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Scars_

(Lily's POV)

I couldn't tear my eyes away from my worst nightmare come to life. It was like looking at a horrific car crash. You don't want to look at the mangled mess, but can't help but looking. Finally, Dai Shi stopped blasting Casey with his energy blast. There was a faint trace of smoke coming from Casey's body. His uniform was in shambles. It was torn, ripped, and shredded in several different locations. The worst part was that Casey's body had gone completely limp. It had gone limp probably thirty seconds before Dai Shi actually stopped attacking him.

"Casey! Please wake up! Don't you dare quit on me now! Please come back to me! I miss you! I need you! I love you! Come on! Open those beautiful brown eyes of yours!" I cried out.

My abundance of tears hindered my vision. My nose was runny, and my body was racked by sobbing spells. I listened very closely waiting for Casey to say something, anything, but the room was filled with nothing but silence.

"You monster! You always were a bully! Casey couldn't even defend himself!" I shouted at Dai Shi.

The whole time Casey and I had been prisoner, we hadn't had anything to eat or drink. My throat was parched. My stomach growled. My ribs hurt both out of hunger and from being injured. I wouldn't be surprised if some of my ribs were broken. Not having had anything to eat in such a long time made me feel lightheaded and really weak.

I thought back to when Casey channeled his animal spirit and let out a roar that knocked Dai Shi off his feet. _If he can do it, then so can I._ I closed my eyes and focused. I channeled my animal spirit, and let out a roar. Rather than just roar and be done with it, I continued to roar. Dai Shi was sent flying backwards into a wall. My roar was pressing him up against it until it sent him crashing right through it. He was forced to power down and lay prone on the floor.

Thanks to my animal spirit, I got a surge of strength and was able to free myself from my chains. I fell to the ground. My limbs felt like they were made out of spaghetti. Basically, it took a great deal more effort than it probably should to move them. A searing pain shot up my ribcage.

I glanced over at Dai Shi, and saw that he was unconscious. _It's now or never._ As quickly as I could, I made my way over to Casey. I put his arm around my shoulder, and I wrapped my arms around his torso. After much struggle, I finally got him to his feet. I started walking, but it was easier said than done. It was like I was dragging dead weight with me.

"Hold on Casey. I'll get you out of here," I said out loud.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Now for some announcements. I know some of you already have checked it out, but I fairly recently wrote this one-shot titled "Casey's Cub." If you haven't checked it out, you should and let me know what you think. Just today, I wrote another one-shot called "Casey's Cub and No One Else's." It sounds like it's a follow up to "Casey's Cub," but it's completely unrelated. Again, you should check it out and let me know what you think. On another note, I have officially registered myself as a beta reader, so if you are interested in recruiting a beta reader, check out my beta profile. As always, thank you so much to everyone who has supported me so far. Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to support me. **


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Dependence_

Camille walked over to the fallen blue ranger and hauled him to his feet. Theo was out on his feet.

"You're coming with me, blue ranger," the chameleon said.

"I don't think so! Leave my cub alone!" RJ exclaimed appearing in the outdoor patio.

"And who are you exactly?"

"I'm the rangers' master."

"Interesting. Well, then you should be quite the fighter," Camille stated throwing Theo aside.

Camille transformed back into her chameleon form. The two ran at each other, and threw a plethora of punches and kicks. Both warriors parried the other's attacks. This morsel of information surprised Camille. She wasn't expecting someone who wasn't even morphed to put up this good of a fight even if he was the rangers' master.

"Where are Casey and Lily?" RJ demanded.

"Worry not. They are being taken care of," Camille responded.

RJ gave into his emotions, and let them take control of him. He channeled his own animal spirit, a wolf, and attacked Camille with a nearly transparent energy blast. Camille was sent flying backwards.

Camille picked herself up off the ground. She took out her two trusty daggers. Camille charged at RJ, and swung her daggers. RJ easily was able to evade each and every attack. The chameleon went for a leg sweep, but RJ did a front flip to dodge it. He landed with his legs wrapped around Camille's head. Using his leg strength, RJ threw the villainess to the ground with a sort of hurricanrana maneuver.

Camille was up on her feet quicker than a hiccup, and she leapt into the air. Daggers rained from the sky, and RJ face-planted. He lay face down on the ground.

"Too easy," Camille said as she rolled RJ over on his back with her foot. Then, she stood with one foot on top of RJ's chest.

Suddenly, RJ grabbed hold of Camille's foot. She hobbled on one leg trying to keep her balance. RJ spun Camille was around so that her back was to him. Next, he kicked Camille in the back of her knee so hard that it was like he was punting a football. Her knee gave out on her, and she lay on the ground cradling her knee to her chest.

"This isn't over. Mark my words," she said before disappearing.

RJ went over to Theo, and crouched down beside him.

"Theo, come on. Wake up. I can't have you falling asleep on me. I need you to stay awake, okay?" RJ said.

He knew that Theo probably had a concussion. If Theo fell asleep, his concussion would be much worse than if he remained awake. RJ had to make sure that he kept talking to Theo.

RJ scooped Theo up in his arms bridal style. Sure it looked weird, but it got the job done. With the jaguar in his arms, RJ went in the entrance to Jungle Karma Pizza.

"There you are, Theo! Wait, is he okay? What happened?" Fran asked upon seeing Theo slip in and out of consciousness in her boss's arms.

"Don't worry about it, Fran. I'll take care of it," RJ said as he went in the back room.

RJ wasn't sure what to say to Theo. He didn't like to be put on the spot, so he just said the first thing that came to mind—he started telling jokes. No one ever got his jokes, but RJ liked to think he was funny.

RJ had already lost two of his cubs, and if he had anything to say about it, he wasn't about to lose a third anytime soon.

Now more than ever, RJ understood how much the rangers—his rangers—depended on one another.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner. It's just that I'm on such a roll with this other multi-chapter fic of mine. It's called "Survival of the Fittest" if you haven't checked it out yet. It's definitely different than this fic. Anyways, thanks to everyone for their support, and thank you for reading! **


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**A/N: So, I feel I owe you all an explanation as to my hiatus a.k.a. my lack of updates. As of May 10, 2008, I moved to a suburb of Tampa, Florida. Prior to that, and immediately after that, there was the whole issue of packing and unpacking. To make matters worse, we didn't hire people to come and move us, so we had to load and unload the moving truck ourselves this time. Anyways, so that is why I haven't updated in awhile. **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Youth_

(Master Phant's POV)

I was in my home enjoying the tranquility it offered me. Thanks to Lily, it didn't feel so cold and depressing anymore. It felt more like a home and less like a house. Everywhere around me, there was something that reminded me of Lily—some personal touch that she added to my home.

I often found myself wondering what she was doing, or for that matter how she was doing. Ever since I trained her in the way of the elephant, I hadn't really seen her much less talked to her.

I was brought to the realization that there was a world outside the four walls that surrounded me when I heard a knock on my front door. I found this to be odd seeing as how save for Lily on that fateful day, I never got any visitors. Pushing that thought to the back of my head, I opened the front door.

There she was standing right in front of me. It was my newest student—Lily. She was holding her friend around the waist barely keeping him upright. I recognized him from before. It wasn't the short one, but the taller one.

Without thinking twice, I helped Lily carry him over to the couch. Together, we positioned him on the couch.

"What happened?" I asked the yellow ranger.

I saw the tear streaks on her face. She wasn't crying now, but it was quite clear that she had been crying—a lot from the looks of it.

"Look, can I stay here for a little while? They're after us," Lily answered.

"Who?"

"Dai Shi and probably Camille too."

The color drained from my face at the mere mentioning of Dai Shi's name. I shuddered to think what kind of trouble my student was in; what she had been through.

"Your friend, is he going to be all right?" I asked genuinely concerned.

"I hope so. Can you help me take care of him?" Lily responded.

"I'd be glad to."

They both looked to be in bad shape, but particularly Lily's friend. He looked to be teetering on the brink of life and death. It was tragic how someone so young; someone with his whole life ahead of him was so close to dying.

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

As I watched Lily diligently tend to her friend's wounds, I couldn't help but notice that something had changed between the two of them since I last saw them. It was almost like she cared for him more than before, which made me wonder what they were to each other.

"Are you sure you two are just friends?" I asked curiosity getting the better of me.

"Who said Casey and I were just friends?" Lily replied.

That was all I needed to know about that. I had my answer. I could tell she was trying to be strong, but inside, her heart was breaking. Lily cared about Casey so much that it was like she was protective of him.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" I inquired.

Lily had been unusually quiet ever since she and Casey arrived on my doorstep. Not that I could blame her. There's no telling what the two of them had been through. It's just that the Lily before me wasn't the Lily I remember. The cheerful, bubbly, peppy, happy-go-lucky girl that I once knew was not the girl before me now.

"I don't want to talk about it," she responded.

It was now dark out. The moonlight shone in through the windows. Before I headed off to bed, I saw Lily climb onto the couch next to Casey and nestle up to him. Watching them reminded me what it was like to be young and in love.

To Be Continued…


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**A/N: After much wait, here is the next chapter. I won't bore you with the details, but I will say that time was not on my side. I hope I haven't lost any readers/reviewers.**

_Helm_

It was official. A doctor had diagnosed Theo as having a concussion. It would put him out of commission for two to three days. In terms of symptoms, RJ was told there would be fatigue, nausea, and headache.

In this time, a bucket was Theo's greatest friend and constant companion. It seemed like when he wasn't sleeping, he was vomiting. The putrid smell caused the loft to reek.

With Casey and Lily still missing and Theo having a concussion, RJ had to take the helm at JKP. He and Fran were the only ones left to work there, and they were forced to work harder than ever. After all, they had to pick up the slack for three missing employees.

"So RJ, you never did tell me what happened to Theo. I was kind of freaked out when I saw you walk in with him," Fran said to her boss.

RJ didn't want to lie to Fran, but at the same time, he couldn't tell her that Casey, Lily, and Theo were power rangers and he was their master. Instead, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"He fainted. Yeah, Theo's feeling a bit under the weather. Probably because he's so worried about Lily and Casey, especially Lily. You know how close those two are," RJ said.

RJ didn't think Fran would buy his lie, but she did as evidenced by her returning to serve the customers. That relieved him to no end because usually he's not good at making things up on the fly.

"RJ, table five needs their check, and table three is waiting on their drinks," Fran called out.

"Got it," RJ shouted back.

It was just his luck that in Jungle Karma Pizza's busiest lunch rush ever, he was three employees short. RJ was in charge of making and baking the pizzas. Meanwhile, Fran was responsible for seating and waiting on the customers. Then there was the whole matter of cleaning the place and washing dishes.

Fran was sure that if Theo were here, he'd be disgusted. For all intents and purposes, the pizza parlor looked like a pig sty. It was in definite disarray. There wasn't a clean table in sight. The floors had pizza toppings scattered all over it. They no longer had any clean plates or silverware. If that wasn't bad enough, more and more customers were coming in, and there wasn't even anywhere for them to sit.

Fran was relieved when she saw a familiar face enter JKP. Well, two familiar faces and one unfamiliar face. Master Phant and Lily each had one of Casey's arms around their shoulder and were holding him up.

"Lily, am I glad to see you! What's wrong with Casey? Who's this guy?" Fran asked pointing to Master Phant.

"A friend. Look, I don't have time to talk right now, I need to take Casey to the back," Lily said.

"What's wrong with him?"

However, Fran didn't receive an answer. As of late, a lot of weird stuff had been happening. That's twice that she's witnessed two of her co-workers and friends come in JKP looking like they were out of it. She only wished someone would give her a straight answer.

To Be Continued…


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**A/N: This takes place after "Ghost of a Chance Part 2." **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Color_

(Fran's POV)

"Hello rangers…power rangers," I said.

Casey, Theo, Lily, and RJ exchanged nervous glances with one another. I bet they didn't expect me to uncover their biggest secret.

"Power rangers?" Theo asked.

"There are no such things as power rangers!" Lily added.

"Yeah. They're an urban legend," Casey remarked.

RJ quietly took a few steps backwards, flopped down onto his chair, put the footrest up, grabbed what was left of his bowl of chips, and started munching on them.

"Oh, don't deny it. I saw you on the monitors." I stated gesturing to the numerous monitors in the living room region of the loft. "I know what color ranger each of you is too. Casey, you're the red ranger. Theo, you're the blue ranger. Lily, you're the yellow ranger."

"What were you doing in the loft anyways? It was supposed to be off limits to you," Theo commented.

"Oh really? Why is it off limits to me?" I inquired.

"Because RJ lives here?" Casey replied sounding more like a question than a statement.

"Perhaps. Or maybe it's because it's your base of operations. You know, with you three being power rangers and everything," I said.

Theo's resolve hadn't weakened the slightest bit. Casey's resolve had started to weaken. While Lily looked like she was ready to spill the beans.

"You never explained why you were in a place that was off limits to you," Theo noted.

"I don't know maybe because my co-workers abandoned me for the umpteenth time and I went to go find you," I answered.

"Guys, I can't do this anymore. I have to tell her the truth. It's not very considerate to keep the truth from her," Lily remarked.

"Not a word, Lily!" Theo exclaimed.

It was actually quite amusing watching the three of them squirm. Well, only two of them were really squirming, but it was amusing nonetheless.

"We were going to tell you Fran. We were just waiting for the right time. After all, 'I'm a power ranger," isn't exactly something you go around telling people on a daily basis," Casey stated.

"Casey!" Theo scolded.

"Now that I think about it that certainly explains a lot of things. For example, why you three were always taking off leaving me to hold down the fort. Also, why one of you would come into Jungle Karma Pizza with an unexplainable injury. Last, but not least, I thought the red ranger's voice sounded familiar to me when he rescued me. Why shouldn't it? It was you, Casey, all along," I reflected out loud.

From the comfort of his recliner, RJ was smirking, although I don't know why. I wasn't exactly pleased with him either. All those late night phone calls and never once did he mention his role in the ranger's lives. I guess he hadn't been entirely honest with me himself.

"Wipe that smirk off your face RJ! You're just as bad as they are!" I exclaimed shaking my finger at him.

As mad as I was at the four of them for keeping this huge of a secret from me, a part of me still couldn't help but be all giddy with excitement inside. I'm a bookworm at heart. I read all sorts of things. I'm not one to discriminate. Novels, poetry, short stories, newspapers, magazines, fanfiction, and comic books. I understand the whole need for a secret identity from reading about comic book superheroes. I can't get over how cool it is that I work at the same place as the power rangers. Not everyone can say that, now can they?

To Be Continued…


	36. Chapter 36

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**A/N: So, if my story "Yes, Master" is any indication, I quite like the idea of Lily's leather jacket being responsible for her change in behavior in the episode "Bad to the Bone." Hence, I'm running with that idea in this chapter. This takes place after "Bad to the Bone."**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Dare_

Despite the fact that Fran had changed the sign on the door from 'Open' to 'Sorry, we're closed,' Lacey showed up at Jungle Karma Pizza rapping her knuckles on the door. Lily emphatically pointed to the sign on the door.

"Open up!" Lacey shouted.

"Ugh! I knew it was only a matter of time before we saw her again. She's no doubt here to see Casey. Doesn't she ever give up?" Fran remarked.

Lily eyed the leather jacket that was on top of a nearby table. While wearing this jacket, she became someone she wasn't terribly proud of. Fran had told her that she became 'the Queen of Mean' upon putting on the jacket. That wasn't like her at all. Lily was nice to everyone. Heck, she was even nice to Camille. Granted, she didn't know until afterwards it was Camille she was being nice to, but still.

If there was one person Lily didn't care to be nice to, it was Lacey. She had been a thorn in her side for quite some time now. They were both fighting over Casey. Lily and Casey, like Lacey and Casey, had been on a first date. Then, after the whole kidnapping thing, Lily and Casey haven't had too much of a chance to even go on a second date yet. Still though, Lily considered Casey hers.

With this thought foremost in mind, Lily put on the leather jacket, and decided to let Lacey in after all in spite of the fact that JKP was supposed to be closed.

"Where's Casey? Is he all right? Why did nobody tell me anything?" Lacey asked firing one question off after another.

"It's none of your business. That's why!" Lily replied wasting no time getting up in Lacey's face.

"Now, now, Lily. Remember, you lay one hand on me, and I swear I will sue you. By the time I'm through with you, I'll leave you broke. You wouldn't want that now, would you?"

It was at this moment that Casey had entered the pizza parlor after he and Theo had completed the chores Fran had ordered them to do.

"Is there a problem here?" Casey asked quickly noting how Lacey and Lily were in close proximity of one another.

Lacey jostled past Lily and made her way over to the red ranger. She placed both palms of her hands on his chest and roughly shoved him back into a wall. Next, she put one hand on each of his cheeks and captured his lips in hers in a very passionate albeit one-sided kiss.

Lily wasn't about to stand by and watch this go down like this. She rushed over to Lacey like a woman possessed, and literally yanked her off of Casey.

"Don't you dare!" Lily warned.

"You just got yourself sued!" Lacey responded.

The yellow ranger let out a scream before she tackled Lacey to the floor. The cheetah grabbed a handful of Lacey's brunette hair while Lacey reached up and put her hands around Lily's throat. The two rolled back and forth both fighting to be the one on top. Lily was the better fighter though, and she wound up on top. She had another handful of Lacey's hair and repeatedly slammed the back of her head into the floor.

"Whoa, whoa! Lily, stop!" Casey said after getting over his shock.

He pulled Lily off Lacey. Lily was kicking her feet and clawing her hands bent on trying to make Lacey pay for what she did.

"Let me go!" Lily yelled.

Just as Lacey got up, Fran came up from behind her, grabbed her arms, and held them behind her back.

"Lacey, you need to leave!" Casey ordered.

"But Casey—"

"Now!" Casey exclaimed.

Fran let Lacey go, and she walked over to the front door, but not before turning around to face Lily who was still squirming in Casey's clutches.

"Mark my words, Lily. This isn't over. Not by a long shot," Lacey said before leaving JKP.

To Be Continued…


	37. Chapter 37

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**A/N: So this is the theme that I've had an idea for since like forever, but it's just never been the right time for the idea I had in mind. Now is.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Take My Hand_

(Casey's POV)

I couldn't believe it. I was actually going alone to meet Lacey at some lookout above Ocean Bluff Beach. I saw her standing across the way over by the edge.

"Okay, I'm here Lacey. Just like you asked me to be over the phone. Now let's make this quick. I don't want anyone to catch me being with you," I stated.

Lacey sauntered over to me. She wrapped both of her arms around my neck, and I immediately ducked out of her grasp. She pouted a bit, but her face also held a hint of amusement.

"I thought you said you were willing to do anything in order to stop me from suing Lily?" Lacey asked in what I'm sure to her was a sultry voice.

"Just tell me what you want me to do," I repeated.

Lacey shook her head. "That's just it. I don't want you to _do_ anything. I want you," she replied as she stood on her tiptoes and attempted to plant a kiss on my lips.

I backed away before she had the chance. Then, I heard the sound of an engine shutting off. I looked behind me, and saw Lily get off her motorcycle. She took off her helmet, and hung it on one of the handles. Lily wasted no time joining us.

"What is going on here?" she demanded.

"Apparently, you need to keep a tighter leash on your man. The moment I called him, he dropped everything and came here to meet me," Lacey answered.

I turned to face Lacey, giving her a glare that would make Medusa proud. "Shut up!"

"Case, is that true?" Lily asked begging me with her eyes to say 'no.'

Before I could even answer, a purple ball of energy landed at our feet. It created an explosion that sent all three of us flying through the air. I was fortunate enough not to roll off the edge of the lookout, but Lily and Lacey were not. The two of them were hanging on for dear life.

I knew I had to make a judgment call because they were about twenty feet apart from one another. There was no way I could save them both. Without giving it another thought, I headed over to help Lily. She was holding onto a root that was jutting out.

"Lily, take my hand!" I shouted to her extending my arm to her.

She had to let go of the root with one of her hands in order to grab my hand. I felt her hand in mine, and I used my other arm to grab her. With both arms, I started to pull her up.

As I was doing so, I heard a blood-curdling scream. Lacey had lost her grip, and was plummeting to the beach beneath her. The last thing I heard was her shout, "Casey, help me!"

There was no way she would survive a fall from this height. For that matter, there was no way Lily or I would survive a fall from this height, even _with_ our ranger powers. My hands were full. I couldn't do anything but watch Lacey fall to her certain death.

A few moments later, and Lily and I were both on solid ground. Crisis averted. She threw her arms around me. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Casey, you chose me," she said happily.

"Of course I chose you, Lil. I'll _always_ choose you," I responded.

I knew I should be ecstatic that Lily and I were safe, but my thoughts drifted to Lacey. I couldn't help but think that I was responsible for her death. If I hadn't agreed to meet her here, she wouldn't have died. If I hadn't even met her in the first place, she wouldn't have died. I should've done more. I'm a power ranger. I should've been able to save both Lily _and_ Lacey. But I couldn't. I didn't.

To Be Continued…


	38. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Mirror_

(Lily's POV)

It had been three days since Lacey's death. Casey was taking her death really hard. I was really worried about him. He had hardly eaten or drank anything since that fateful day. His hair was frazzled and there were bags under his eyes. He was going off of next to no sleep. Casey had been having frequent nightmares—only they weren't really nightmares, he was reliving the last few moments of Lacey's life. He would wake up shouting, "Lacey, no!"

I saw him standing in front of a full-length mirror. Only instead of gazing back at his reflection, he was staring at the floor at his feet. His shoulders sagged, and he had this downtrodden look to him.

Today was actually the date of Lacey's funeral. As much as she drove me crazy, we were all planning on attending her funeral and paying our respects. There was one problem—one of us didn't want to go.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Case?" I asked pretty sure I already knew the answer.

"I can't show my face there. You guys go ahead without me," he replied in a completely monotone voice.

It broke my heart to see someone I cared so much about on a downward spiral. To make things worse, I couldn't do anything about it. I placed one hand on each side of his face, and raised his head so that he was looking me in the eyes.

"It wasn't your fault, Casey."

"Then why does it feel like it is?"

He looked at me with sad eyes. There was no twinkle in his eye anymore. His eyes even looked like they were a dimmer shade of brown.

"You're just being too hard on yourself."

"Or maybe you guys aren't being hard enough on me."

"What?"

"Someone died on my watch. I'm a power ranger! That isn't supposed to happen! Maybe I shouldn't even be a ranger if I can't even protect the innocent."

My mouth was agape. I couldn't believe my ears. I wanted so much to believe that I had simply heard him wrong.

"What?!"

"I can't even look myself in the mirror without being ashamed of what I see."

"You have nothing to be ashamed about!"

"Oh really? If I hadn't agreed to meet Lacey there, she would still be alive. If I had done more to save her, she would still be alive. If I were a better ranger, she would still be alive. Heck, if I had never met her, she would still be alive!"

My eyes started leaking tears. I hated hearing Casey talk so badly about himself. I hated hearing Casey continue to blame himself.

"You weren't the one who attacked her. You weren't the one who knocked her off the lookout."

"Maybe not, but I didn't do anything to stop her from falling to her death, now did I? Do you know what her last words were? Her last words were, 'Casey, help me!' I couldn't even do that!"

"Because you were saving me! I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you." I stepped to the side, and with my hand made Casey look at his reflection in the mirror. "Do you know what I see when I look at the mirror? I see a hero. Not just any hero either. I see _my_ hero."

I stood in front of Casey once more. I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. He buried his face in my shoulder, and I could feel my shoulder start to get wet. I couldn't even imagine what he was going through, but one thing I did know was that I would be there for him and help him get through this.

"So, will you come to the funeral with us?"

"Lil—"

"Will you please do it, for me?"

He took some time to think about his answer. Quite frankly, I thought his answer would still be a 'no.'

"For you, Lil, I'd do anything."

To Be Continued…


	39. Chapter 39

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Dawn_

(Casey's POV)

It was the dawn of another day. I woke up only to find myself staring Lily in the face. When I realized I was lying in bed next to her, I started freaking out. I threw the covers off of me as though they had been set ablaze. I rolled over and over until I had completely rolled out of Lily's bed. There was a loud thud as my ribs made contact with the hardwood floor.

Lily must have heard it too (heck, I would be surprised if there was anyone in the loft who _didn't_ hear it) as she sat straight up.

"Casey, are you okay?" the cheetah asked.

"I'm just confused, and now, a little sore," I answered. _Ooh, that's going to leave a mark!_

"Confused? What are you confused about?"

"How did I end up in bed with you? I didn't…do anything, did I?"

I noticed that Lily's face turned a bright shade of red not unlike the color of a cherry tomato. That didn't clear things up. In fact, it just made things more confusing.

"What? No, no, no! We were just up late last night talking. You fell asleep, and I didn't want to wake you," the yellow ranger explained.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Well, because you look so adorable when you're sleeping."

"So what, are you telling me that I don't look adorable when I'm awake?"

I didn't receive an answer from Lily, but I did get hit in the head with a projectile pillow. For the first time since Lacey's death, I smiled a real honest-to-goodness smile. Being around Lily is so intoxicating. Whenever I'm around her, she always seems to lift my spirits.

"Do you want me to check you out?" she asked.

_Did I just hear her right?_ "Come again?" I replied.

"Your ribs."

"I'm okay."

"I'll be the judge of that. I'm going to need you to lift up your shirt for me."

I was still on the floor, and she was hovering over me. Her hair had a faint aroma of strawberries to it, probably from the strawberry scented shampoo she loves so much. You know, not that I was sniffing her hair or anything.

"Ahem! Case, your shirt," Lily said bringing me back to reality.

"Oh, right," I said as I lifted up the bottom part of my red t-shirt.

Maybe it was just me, but I thought Lily was taking an awfully long time to inspect my ribs for damage. I was starting to think that she was just checking me out instead.

"So, what's the diagnosis?" I asked.

"The what? Oh, yeah, um, you should probably put some ice on that," she answered as she averted her gaze.

I lowered my shirt, and just as I stood up, we were joined by none other than Theo and RJ.

"Is everything okay?" RJ asked.

"Yeah, we heard a noise," Theo added.

"Everything's fine. I just fell out of Lily's b—ow!" I said before getting elbowed in my ribs by Lily. _Now there definitely will be bruising!_

"What Casey _meant_ to say is that we were sparring," the cheetah said.

"This early in the morning?" RJ asked.

"Yeah, and in your pajamas?" Theo added.

"Well, you know the saying. 'Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.'" I said.

"Yeah. The noise you heard was just me kicking Casey's butt," Lily stated.

"Ha! You wish!" I exclaimed sticking my tongue out at her.

"Weren't you going to get some ice?" she asked me.

"What's the rush? My bruises aren't going anywhere," I replied.

"Whatever. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a shower. All that sparring made me sweaty," Lily said before heading for the bathroom.

"I didn't see any sweat on her. I don't buy their story. Do you, RJ?" Theo asked.

"Not at all, Theo. Not at all," RJ answered.

"So Case, what _really_ happened?" the jaguar questioned.

However, as soon as Lily had left, I had hijacked her iPod, put on the headphones, and had it on full blast. I mouthed the words 'I can't hear you' to my two teammates before going to the freezer to get me some ice after all.

To Be Continued…


	40. Chapter 40

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Beautiful_

A couple of weeks later, and the relationship between Casey and Lily had really started to take flight. They no longer had just _dated_, but were _dating_. The two of them had finally gone on their second date. They had also gone on their third, fourth, fifth, and sixth date as well.

Their relationship was no secret either. Fran, Theo, and RJ all knew about their relationship, and the three of them were all happy for Casey and Lily. No one spoke of Lacey anymore as that was a sore subject for the red ranger. The incident had changed him though, and although he wasn't quite the same, he was starting to become more like the guy Lily had fallen in love with.

The two of them were practically attached at the hip. They were almost always seen with one another. On more than one occasion now, Casey claimed that he had stayed up late talking with Lily and fell asleep in her bed. Whether or not that was true remains to be seen.

Casey and Lily were both in the kitchen. The yellow ranger could care less about waiting tables and the tips that came along with it, she rather be with Casey instead. He was making pizzas and she was washing dishes.

"Hey Case, have you seen my iPod? I can't seem to find it anywhere," Lily stated.

Casey miraculously stifled his laughter before Lily caught wind of it. He had hijacked her iPod two weeks ago, and she still hadn't found it. The red ranger couldn't help but think that the yellow ranger must have sucked at playing Hide and Seek as a kid.

"Lil, I'm hurt. You think I had something to do with that?" the tiger asked holding a hand to his chest in mock pain.

"You answered a question with a question. That proves your guilty!" the cheetah replied.

"Say what? That doesn't even make sense!"

"So where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"My iPod!"

"Like I would know. I have my own iPod, so why on Earth would I steal yours?"

"Ha! So you did steal it!"

"What? Seriously, what is with your logic today?"

Lily had a grin spread across her face. She and Casey were known to start stupid little arguments like this for no apparent reason. No one's feelings ever really got hurt. They were more…arguing for the sake of arguing.

With the speed of a cheetah, Lily picked up a bowl of flour and threw its contents on an unsuspecting red ranger. He looked down at his shirt, and gave it a good shake. Casey glanced over in Lily's direction and he saw her smirking proudly.

"You are going to be so sorry you did that," the tiger replied before tossing cubes of tofu at Lily's head.

She had an incredulous look on her face as though he were the one to initiate the food fight. She took a wooden spoon, scooped up some pizza sauce, and then smeared it on his right cheek.

"Oops! My bad," Lily commented unconvincingly.

"So that's how it's going to be, huh?" the red ranger asked.

Chaos started to break out as the two rangers started throwing anything and everything they could get their hands on at each other. Cheese, flour, pizza toppings of all kinds flew through the air.

In the midst of all the excitement that was the food fight, Lily's iPod fell out of Casey's JKP apron that was tied around his waist.

Lily dove for it, but the red ranger beat her to it picking it up after doing a diving somersault. He held it high above his head, and she reached for it, but he was too tall for her.

"Ha! I knew you had it! Now give it back!" the yellow ranger ordered.

"Make me," the red ranger replied.

She stood on her tiptoes and captured his lips in hers. He immediately released his grip on her iPod. Lily caught it just before it hit the ground. She shoved it in her apron pocket that was tied around her waist and then returned to washing dishes like nothing had happened.

The red ranger remained rooted in place, completely floored by what had just happened. "Hey, that's not fair! You know that you are my weakness!" the tiger remarked.

"I know. That's one of the many reasons why I love you," Lily answered.

"You love me?"

"Wait a second. I tell you that I love you, and all you have to say is 'You love me?'"

"I love you too."

"How do I know you're not just saying that to appease me?"

"Because I give you my word."

"This coming from the guy who several minutes ago declared he _didn't_ take my iPod."

"Fine then. If you don't believe me, then I'll just have to show you."

Casey turned Lily around so that the two were facing one another. He reached out with his hand and gently cupped her chin. He leaned in and was just about to kiss her when Theo walked in.

"I'm still waiting on three orders! What's going on in here? Look at the kitchen. What a mess!" the blue ranger said wrinkling his nose in disgust.

Casey and Lily darted apart. She resumed washing the dishes, and he started to clean up the mess that he and Lily had made courtesy of their food fight.

As the yellow ranger was washing dishes, inside she was leaping for joy. It wasn't the first time that she had told Casey that she loves him. However, it was the first time that he had told her that he loves her. That in of itself was a beautiful thing.

To Be Continued?

**A/N: So here's the deal. This fic may not be complete quite yet depending on you, the readers. If you want me to continue on and write 60 chapters, leave me a review and say so. Likewise, if you want me to leave it as is, leave me a review and say so. I'm going to do whatever the majority is. If no one tells me one way or the other, then there is no majority, and thus I will not continue this fic and change its status to "Complete." **


	41. Chapter 41

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**A/N: So it was quite a nail biter, but those of you who wanted me to continue on with this story just barely edged out those of you who didn't. Anyways, so here's Chapter 41. Enjoy!**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

"_Let me tell you a story"_

RJ woke up at 6 a.m. as per his usual routine. He didn't allow the rangers to really sleep in, but he didn't exactly make them get up early either. Needless to say, RJ was always the first one up. On his way to the living room section of the loft, he saw something that wasn't exactly a routine sight.

Casey and Lily were in bed together. Both had sought refuge underneath the covers at some point or another during the night or perhaps early morning hours. This in of itself wasn't really unusual. It certainly wasn't the first time they had been caught in bed together. No, what made this not ordinary was the fact that Casey was half-naked—that is to say he was shirtless. That raised too many flags to count for RJ.

"What is the meaning of this?" RJ said unable to stop himself from shouting.

The red ranger and yellow ranger immediately sat straight up in Lily's bed. As soon as Casey realized that he was half naked, he tried to cover himself up the best he could with the covers.

"RJ, this isn't what it looks like!" Lily exclaimed.

"I never said anything. All I said was 'What is the meaning of this?' Although I am curious what you think I think this looks like," the wolf master replied.

"We—" the tiger started to say.

"Stayed up late last night talking and fell asleep in her bed, right? Yeah, I've heard that one before," RJ stated.

The red ranger and yellow ranger could tell from the look in RJ's eyes that he wasn't buying their story this time around. Granted, Casey being shirtless didn't help the legitimacy of their story either.

"It's true…mostly," the cheetah said.

"Lily! Don't give him ammo!" the red ranger scolded.

"Face it Case, he caught us red-handed."

"No he didn't. Thank God he didn't. Uh, not that there was anything for him to catch in the first place that is."

The Jungle Karma Pizza owner had an amused expression on his face. It was entertaining how little he had to do to cause the two of them to confess.

"I think it's time the three of us had a little chat. Let me tell you a story," the Pai Zhuq master began.

Lily slapped her forehead with her hand. "Please tell me he isn't going to lecture us on the birds and the bees."

"The birds and the bees? My parents never called it that. They always referred to it as '_the_ talk.'" Casey commented using air quotes.

"So sometimes when a man feels strongly about a woman, he gets these urges—" RJ said.

"Make him stop!" Lily begged.

"I can't believe he's doing this!" the red ranger added.

"Anyways, so when a man gets these urges—" the wolf master started to explain.

"We know!" the tiger and the cheetah shouted in unison.

RJ looked over at his students and could see the mortified expressions on their faces. He couldn't hope for anything better.

"Can we drop this? No offense, but talking about this with _you_ is really weird," Casey remarked.

"Ah, but weird is nothing but someone's normal," RJ replied.

The red ranger and yellow ranger exchanged 'Okay…' glances with one another. One would think they would be used to RJ's quirky statements by now, but one would be wrong.

"Anyways, not that it's any of _your_ business, RJ, but we used protection," Lily said.

RJ covered his eyes with his hands as though that would have any effect whatsoever.

"Whoa! Way too much information!" the wolf master exclaimed.

"Oh, come on! You already knew that Casey and I…you know," the yellow ranger replied.

"Again, over share much?" the Pai Zhuq master asked.

Casey was in the midst of putting on his shirt. After that was done, he rolled off the bed, and started to get up to leave.

"As much as I'm enjoying this conversation, I think I'm going to go now," he stated.

"I think that's for the best. Just remember that condoms are only like ninety-eight percent effective," RJ said.

The red ranger dismissed the wolf master's statement with a wave of his hand. He was more concerned with getting away from there.

The yellow ranger was thinking about RJ's last statement. That meant there was a two percent chance she could become pregnant. A two out of one-hundred chance—those aren't very high odds, right?

To Be Continued…


	42. Chapter 42

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**A/N: Happy 4****th**** of July everyone! **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_What if…?_

(Casey's POV)

I had been on an emotional roller coaster as of late. It all started back when Lily told me that she was late. At first, I didn't understand her, but then she explained it to me. _What if she was pregnant?_ She had purchased a home pregnancy test, and I was currently waiting on its results.

It's not that I didn't ever want to have kids someday. I just didn't want to have kids now. I'm only eighteen years old! _What if I don't make a good father? _Yes, I have younger sisters, but younger sisters are quite different than having my own child.

If Lily turned out to be pregnant, then that brought about a whole new set of questions. _What if she decides not to keep the baby? Or what if she does decide to keep the baby? _I convinced myself that whether she was or wasn't, I will never abandon her. If she was indeed pregnant, I would not force her to raise the child on her own. I would be there for her and my child as well.

I kept coming back full circle to one thought—_What if she was pregnant? Am I ready to be a father? Are we ready to be parents? What about our ranger duties? Where would we put the baby? Could we afford a baby? _

Whatever decision Lily made, I would support her one hundred and ten percent. If she is pregnant, it may be _our_ baby, but it's ultimately _her_ decision. Whether she wanted to keep the baby or not, whether she decided to put it up for adoption or not, whether she decided to have an abortion or not, it was _her_ call to make.

These were the longest ten minutes of my life. Time seemed to drag on forever. I was anxious. I was scared. I didn't really know what to expect or if I should even have any expectations. All I knew was that I wanted to know the results. Having said that, no matter what the result was, it wouldn't change how much I love Lily. Nothing ever could do that.

I saw the bathroom door slowly open, and Lily emerge from behind it. I focused on her face trying to read her that way, but her face was completely neutral, so that was no help whatsoever. She held the pregnancy test in her hand, and steadily made her way over to where I was standing.

"Well?" I asked.

"It's negative. I'm not pregnant," she answered.

Relief swept over me for the most part. Although I must admit, that I felt a little bit disappointed. I wrapped my arms around her in an embrace. I felt her exhale as though she had been holding her breath for the longest time. One thing was for sure. We definitely needed to slow our relationship down a bit. I didn't want to have another pregnancy scare again anytime soon.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: I know for a fact that this chapter is going to upset one of my reviewers while making another of my reviewers happy. Oh well. I can't please everyone I guess. My intention was to incorporate RJ giving Casey and Lily "the talk" and a pregnancy scare. **


	43. Chapter 43

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**A/N: This takes place after the episode "Friends Don't Fade Away" but before the episode "There's No 'I' In Leader." **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_The Call_

Casey was in the back making pizzas when the phone rang. He was the closest to the phone, not to mention the only one in the back, so he answered it.

"Jungle Karma Pizza, this is Casey speaking," he said.

"_Do you mind meeting me? There is something important we need to discuss,_" the voice on the other end replied.

"Yeah, sure. When and where?" the red ranger asked as he grabbed an order pad and a pen.

After jotting down the time and place, he hung up the phone, threw on a jacket, and was out the kitchen door. He nearly made it out the door before Lily called out to him.

"Hey, Case? Where are you going?" she asked.

"I can't talk now. I have to go. I'll tell you later though," the tiger responded before leaving the pizza parlor.

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

The red ranger arrived at his destination, the Ocean Bluff Park. He saw the person he came to meet standing by the lake gazing into it. The tiger walked up behind the person and stopped a few feet away.

"Thanks for the call," Casey said.

The figure turned around, and it was none other than Master Finn, RJ's father. Although Master Finn had accepted the fact that RJ was good at what he does, there was still a wedge between the two of them. Seven years apart will do that to any father and son, no matter who they are.

"So what did you want to tell me? You said it was important," the red ranger stated.

"It is. First of all, I need to ask you something. Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary with RJ as of late?" Master Finn inquired.

"_Everything_ with RJ is out of the ordinary. Now that you mention it though, he's been out all night on three separate occasions now. We'd find him missing the following morning."

Master Finn had a look on his face like that was what he was afraid of. Casey could see the worry in Master Finn's eyes.

"Call it paternal instinct, but I sense that something is very wrong with RJ. Now, I'm no expert when it comes to the wolf spirit, but I think therein lies the problem. I think that RJ is having problems with his animal spirit," the shark master explained.

"So what are you saying? That he might turn into a werewolf again?" the tiger asked.

"All I'm saying is keep a close eye on him, and be careful."

"But he's a ranger now. Surely, that has to mean that he's in control of his animal spirit."

Master Finn's face now read an expression of shock. This was clearly news to him. Then again, it wasn't like he and RJ communicated with one another on a daily basis.

"He's a ranger?" the shark master asked.

"Yeah, the wolf ranger. You'd be proud of him," Casey replied.

"I can't believe it! My son's a ranger!"

There was definite pride on the shark master's face. In fact, he looked to be beaming with pure joy. Master Finn was a strict guy, and this was the first time that the tiger had seen his second master smile like he was.

"Say, did you want to come with? I'm sure RJ would be happy to see you," Casey asked.

"No, really, that's okay," Master Finn said once again assuming a serious demeanor.

"Was there anything else?"

"No, that was it."

"Okay, well I should be getting back now."

"Take care of yourself Casey."

"I will. You take care too."

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

A little while later, back at Jungle Karma Pizza, and Casey was telling Lily all about his meeting with Master Finn.

"So that's who you went to meet then?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, I tried to get him to come back with me for a visit, but he didn't feel up to it," the red ranger answered.

"So what did you two talk about then?"

"Well, he told me that he thinks RJ is still having problems controlling his animal spirit. Master Finn thinks we need to keep a close eye on RJ. Besides that, the only other thing we talked about was about RJ being a ranger. You should've seen him, Lily. He was so proud of RJ."

The yellow ranger then noticed a sudden change of disposition in the red ranger. She frowned as she noticed how he was staring at the ground with his shoulders sagging.

"You're thinking about your parents, aren't you?" the cheetah asked.

"Yeah," Casey replied sadly.

Lily wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. She could feel his body trembling ever so slightly. The yellow ranger could tell that he was trying to be strong. At least RJ still had a dad.

"You know Case, your dad and your mom are up in heaven watching over you. You know something else, they're proud of you too," Lily said.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Eh, I'm not really sure about this chapter. Oh well. If it sucks, I'm sure you all won't hesitate to tell me so.**


	44. Chapter 44

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**A/N: Takes place during the episode "There's No 'I' in Leader" after the Claw Cannon incident when RJ was training with the rangers.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Guilt_

Lily found Casey sitting by a lake at the Ocean Bluff Park. He was attempting to skip rocks, but was having no such luck. The instant the rock made contact with the water, it just sunk. The yellow ranger took a seat on the grass beside the red ranger.

"Case, what's wrong?" she asked.

The tiger looked over to the cheetah. He hadn't realized until now that he had company. Lily noticed that the twinkle that was usually in his eyes had disappeared. In its wake was sadness and something else that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"It's nothing," Casey replied not even bothering to look Lily in the eyes when addressing her.

The yellow ranger reached out and rested her hand on his arm.

"Casey, please don't do that. Please don't shut me out," Lily commented.

The two sat in silence for a little while. She could tell that he was wrestling with the decision of whether or not to tell her what was troubling him. Rather than keep asking him, she just let him open up on his own terms.

"That could have ended a lot differently earlier. You could have been seriously hurt, or worse, and it would have been my fault," the red ranger explained.

Lily moved her hand up to his shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze. Then, she laid her head on his shoulder. Casey's arm snaked around her as he delicately grabbed her around the waist, his hand coming to a rest on her hip.

"But I wasn't. I'm fine. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. We all have off days, even me," she responded as she wrapped her arms around his torso.

"I can't afford to have a single off day ever again. My mistake could have cost you your life. It's already bad enough that I have one death weighing on my conscience," Casey said.

Lily knew what he was referring to—Lacey's death. She was actually stunned that he would even mention it in the first place since it was such a sore subject for him. The yellow ranger frowned.

"That wasn't your fault either," the cheetah stated.

"Maybe I should go away for awhile before I endanger anyone's life further. After all, it's not like you guys need me anymore anyways," Casey remarked.

Lily removed her head from his shoulder, and her arms from his torso. She placed her body squarely in front of his, and with her hand, guided his face so that she was looking him directly in his eyes.

"Where is this coming from?" she asked, concerned.

"I know I shouldn't feel this way, but ever since RJ became a ranger, I've been pushed to the side. I feel like I did when we first started our training under RJ; I feel like a cub," he replied.

"Running away from your problems isn't going to solve anything. Besides, you are far from a cub. You've come such a long way. In fact, I couldn't be more proud of you. But you should talk to RJ, and let him know how you feel."

If only for the briefest of moments, there was a trace of a smile on Casey's face as soon as he heard that Lily was proud of him. That soon disappeared though once she suggested he talk to RJ.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. What if he takes it the wrong way?" the red ranger questioned.

"This is RJ we're talking about. What's the worst that can happen?" Lily replied with a small chuckle.

As she got up to head back, she felt him tug her hand lightly. She looked down and saw that he hadn't gotten up yet.

"Do you mind staying with me for a little bit longer?" he asked.

The two of them lay down together in the grass. She rested her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her midsection. The area they were lying on was at a steep incline so that even while reclining back, they could look out into the pristine lake before them.

Casey didn't know if he was going to go and have a talk with RJ or not. What he did know though was that he could care less about that for the time being because he was just enjoying holding Lily in his arms.

To Be Continued…


	45. Chapter 45

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Lost_

The Overlords were discussing their latest strategy; well, more like Grizzaka was telling Carnisoar and Jellica his latest strategy. After all, Grizzaka _was_ the one in charge. Camille and Dai Shi were listening in as well. The latter couldn't wait until he was able to harness the power or Zocato and overthrow Grizzaka. That mere thought is what motivated him to continue his grueling training.

"I think we have been going about this all wrong. We should take down the rangers one at a time starting with the red ranger. He _is_ the leader. Take the leader down, and the rest of the team will fall apart. It shouldn't be too difficult. The red ranger _is_ the least experienced ranger, which kind of makes him the weakest link," Grizzaka stated.

Camille and Dai Shi decided to reveal themselves and weigh in on the subject matter at hand.

"Ha! Good luck with that. I had the red _and_ yellow ranger prisoner, but they both got away. Those rangers, _especially_ the red one, are far from pushovers," Dai Shi remarked.

"Hello, _Dai Shi_," Grizzaka greeted saying Dai Shi's name with venomous hate. "So let me get this straight. You had both the red ranger and the yellow ranger, but they escaped? That's further proof that humans are weak, and you definitely shouldn't be running things around here since you are nothing more than an inferior human!"

Dai Shi clenched his fists and let out a subdued growl. Camille held him back. She had seen enough of Grizzaka beating up her beloved. If she had anything to say about it, she would see to it that no more of that sort of thing happened.

"Watch and learn, Dai Shi. I will show you how it's done. It is time that I introduce myself to the power rangers," Grizzaka said.

PRJF-PRJF-PRJF

The rangers met Grizzaka downtown as he was terrorizing the citizens of Ocean Bluff, and spreading his fear, which only made him grow stronger.

"No! It can't be!" a morphed wolf ranger exclaimed.

"What is it, RJ?" Casey asked.

"It's Grizzaka! The most powerful and the most feared of the Overlords!"

"That's right _rangers_. I am Grizzaka. There's a new evil villain in charge around here, and that evil villain is me!" Grizzaka remarked.

"Let's attack him as a unit," Casey instructed.

"Give it your best shot!" Grizzaka dared.

Theo and Lily leapt into the air attempting stereo jump kicks. Grizzaka wasn't about to be caught unawares though. He grabbed Theo's leg with one hand, Lily's leg with the other, swung them around, and sent them crashing into Casey and RJ as they were running towards Grizzaka.

"Claw Cannon! Charged!" the three primary colored rangers called out in unison.

They fired a blast at Grizzaka. This attack was enough to topple even the greatest of Dai Shi's Rinshi Beasts. There was only one problem; Grizzaka was no Rinshi Beast. The Overlord effortlessly caught the attack and threw it back at the rangers creating a huge explosion that sent Casey, Theo, and Lily flying through the air. The moment they landed, they demorphed.

"Beam Blast!" RJ shouted.

Grizzaka swatted the purple laser beams to the side with ease. RJ flew through the air in an attempted flying knee lift. At the last split second, Grizzaka used his Zocato power on RJ sending him flying backwards. The wolf ranger too was forced to demorph.

The Overlord stalked over to his primary target, the red ranger. He grabbed him by the arm, and roughly pulled him up to his feet. Casey screamed out in pain due to the vice-like grip Grizzaka had on his arm.

"You're coming with me!" Grizzaka said.

Lily used all the strength she had to pull herself to her feet. She wasn't going to let Grizzaka take Casey away from her that easily.

"Bring out the cheetah!" Lily exclaimed.

Grizzaka threw Casey aside and slashed through the yellow ranger's animal spirit. A purplish-black aura surrounded the Overlord.

"Taste my power, yellow ranger! Zocato!" the Overlord yelled.

Lily's mind was telling her to get out of the way of the attack, but her feet remained rooted to the position. She was frozen in terror as the attack drew closer and closer.

Casey quickly rose to his feet, and threw himself in the line of fire; he took up a protective stance between Grizzaka and Lily. He took the hit that was meant for Lily. He dropped first to his knees, and then fell face down on the ground.

"Casey, no!" Lily shouted as she rushed over to him.

Before she could so much as check on him, Grizzaka had open palm slapped her in the solar plexus sending her careening backwards. She doubled over in pain as she lay on the ground.

Grizzaka grabbed the fallen red ranger by the ankle and dragged him behind him before he teleported away.

"Not again," Lily said in a voice that was barely audible, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

To Be Continued…


	46. Chapter 46

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

**A/N: So I woke up this morning and I felt sick. Even as I write this, I still feel under the weather, so hopefully it doesn't affect my writing. The idea behind this chapter came from one of my reviewers, Carshizzle Mathmel, so Carshizzle Mathmel, this chapter is dedicated to you.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Denial_

(Lily's POV)

That night, I wasn't able to get any sleep. I kept thinking that it was my fault Casey had been captured. After all, if he hadn't tried to protect me, he wouldn't have been taken prisoner by Grizzaka.

I tossed and turned for another five minutes before deciding to get up and get a glass of water from the kitchen. As I made my way over to the kitchen area of the loft, I saw Casey's vacant hammock, and I felt my eyes start to water.

I got a glass out of the cupboard, and opened the refrigerator door. I poured myself a glass of water from the pitcher of filtered water inside the fridge. Once that was finished, I shut the refrigerator door, and turned around.

I dropped my glass of water, and it shattered on the floor beneath my feet. I couldn't believe my eyes. Standing before me was…well I wasn't sure how to describe it other than…Lacey's ghost.

"No, there is no such thing as ghosts! You're not here! You don't exist!" I exclaimed.

"Are you sure about that?" Lacey's ghost asked me.

I already had so much on my mind. The last thing I wanted to deal with was Lacey's spirit or whatever. Maybe my eyes were just tired. Yeah, I was seeing things.

"How can you even look yourself in the mirror?" Lacey's spirit inquired.

"What do you mean?" I replied.

"First, you were responsible for my death. Now, you're responsible for Casey being captured. I hope you're happy!"

"You're wrong! I wasn't responsible for your death, and I'm not responsible for Casey being captured!"

"If he hadn't tried to protect you, he would be right here with you, wouldn't he?"

"Shut up!"

My fists clenched up as I listened to the spirit of my nemesis (not that I believe in spirits) lay the blame on me. All of a sudden, the kitchen light was turned on, and I saw a groggy pajama-clad Theo squinting at me.

"Lily, what are you doing up?" he asked.

"Theo, do you see her?" I responded.

"Who? There's no one here."

"Lacey! She was standing a few feet in front of me, and I could see her as clear as day!"

He walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. The jaguar let out a sharp hiss of pain as he trod on some shards of my broken glass of water.

"I think you need to get some sleep," the blue ranger commented.

"I'm telling you, Theo. I saw Lacey, and she was talking to me; blaming me for not only her death, but for Casey being taken prisoner by Grizzaka," I explained.

"Lil, come on. You know that wasn't your fault."

"Maybe Lacey has a point."

"Lil, you never believed a word Lacey said when she was alive, so why start now?"

Theo was right. I knew he was right. Still, there was this nagging voice in the back of my head that kept telling me that Lacey was right—I was responsible for her death and for Casey's being taken prisoner.

After all, Casey made a choice to save me instead of Lacey. Similarly, Casey made the choice to take that attack from Grizzaka in place of me. Now, I'm not saying it's Casey's fault Lacey died or that he got captured. Maybe it was just a matter of wrong place at the wrong time.

"You miss Casey, don't you?" my best friend asked me.

"Yeah," I answered before the flood gates opened up, and I started weeping uncontrollably.

Theo did what any good friend would do, and held me in his arms as I cried. He gently patted my back as I sobbed.

"We'll get Casey back, Lil. We will. He'll pull through. He's a fighter. It won't be long before you two will be in each other's arms making out in front of the rest of us," Theo said as he gave me a small smile.

I hoped Theo was right. With Casey missing, it was like a part of me was missing too.

To Be Continued…


	47. Chapter 47

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**A/N: I am so very sorry for not updating sooner. I won't bore you with the details, but to make a long story short, let's just say that a) I'm somewhat neurotic and b) I have been down in the dumps ****a lot**** lately emotionally, so there you go. I know it's no excuse, but hopefully it will help explain my hiatus.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Competition_

(Dai Shi's POV)

I anxiously paced the lair, my mind was wandering. The sounds of Casey's screams seemed to reverberate off every wall of the lair. A part of me was sickened by what Grizzaka was trying to do. Still though—the rest of me was smirking at the sheer amount of pain Grizzaka was inflicting on the red ranger, my nemesis.

The Land Overlord was powerful for sure, but apparently he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. The fool was trying to extract the red ranger's animal spirit. _Trying_ being the operative word here. He failed time and time again, but that didn't deter the sadist, for every unsuccessful attempt caused Casey a tremendous amount of pain.

I was lurking in the shadows yet I could see everything very clearly. As much as I was enjoying the red ranger's pain—he has been a thorn in my side for far too long—I was surprised to find that my fists were clenched and a ball of purple energy was crackling in one of my fists.

I'm not sure why I appeared to be poised to jump in and save the red ranger, but maybe it had something to do with how there's no honor to beating your opponent in the manner Grizzaka was trying to utilize to beat Casey. Or perhaps it had something to do with how _I_ wanted to be the one to cause the red ranger's demise, _not_ Grizzaka.

Of course the biggest reason for me being on the brink of attacking Grizzaka was how he seemed to be the one calling the shots around here. _I_ was supposed to be the leader here! That no good Overlord should be taking orders from _me_! I knew resurrecting the Overlords would be like opening Pandora's Box, but I had to open the box anyways.

"Dai Shi, what are you doing?" Camille reprimanded in a loud whisper as she got in between me and Grizzaka.

I wasn't about to harm my only ally, so I unclenched my fists and the ball of purple energy engulfing my fist disappeared.

"I really can't stand Grizzaka, Camille! It's high time someone knocks that bear off his high horse!" I remarked boring a hole into the back of Grizzaka with my eyes.

Camille held both of her hands up with her palms facing me not too pleased with that course of action. Not that her actions were surprising. She was always concerned for my safety _especially_ when I wanted to tussle with Grizzaka.

"Yeah, I don't think that's such a good idea," Camille commented.

"Why not? I could take him!" I countered.

"Who are you trying to convince? You or me?"

"You don't think I could take him?"

"How many times have you tried?" I averted my gaze. "How many times have you been successful?" I let out a subdued growl.

That is when I noticed that Grizzaka had a breakthrough of sorts. I saw that the Overlord had managed to half extract Casey's tiger spirit. The animal's head, neck, front paws, and part of its torso protruded from the red ranger's chest. Casey's back was arched in pain, which was all he could muster as far as attempts at escape were concerned. His wrists, ankles, and waist were shackled to a wall of the lair. I had become so used to his cries of agony that they were practically like white noise to me now.

This turn of events fascinated me. I thought extracting animal spirits was nothing more than a myth. Maybe Grizzaka was brighter than I gave him credit for. Maybe Grizzaka was onto something with the whole extracting animal spirits idea.

On second thought, scratch that. I can't believe I was actually kind of giving Grizzaka props. I hate him. I hate having competition.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: I hope it turned out okay. I've been on a hiatus for so long that I may be a little off my game, or maybe not…I don't know. I have decided on who my two betas will be (provided they still are interested in beta-ing for me) but I opt to update my fics first because why make my fans wait even longer for an update by waiting for my betas to get back to me with their revisions? **


	48. Chapter 48

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**A/N: Thanks to Larissa for beta-ing this chapter for me. **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Change_

(Casey's POV)

I clenched my teeth in pain. My chest burned and felt like it had been impaled by a spear or at the very least something long and sharp. What was the most unnerving was I could actually see my tiger spirit when I looked down. I saw the head, neck, and front paws of it. Master Mao had never mentioned to me that one's animal spirit could be extracted, or how agonizingly painful that extraction process would be.

I felt something inside me change. It was almost like a switch was flipped or something. I started to shake uncontrollably. My body hunched over as I felt something strange start to happen to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Grizzaka warily back up a few steps.

The next thing I knew, I was freed from my shackles. I let out a primal scream as I broke free that to my surprise, came out as an animalistic roar. I held my hands up in front of my face, and was stunned to see that instead of hands and fingers, there were in its place paws and claws. I instantly looked over the rest of my body to see how—complete—this transformation was.

Instead of skin, I had orange fur with black stripes. My body seemed to be more muscular, which would explain why my red training jacket now looked more like an open vest. My black pants were tattered and torn, and my feet must have grown too as I was barefoot. I was now standing completely upright, no hunch. My eyes darted wildly from side to side.

"Rinshi, get him!" Grizzaka ordered.

I had no idea what I was or what I had become. As soon as the Rinshi started making their way towards me, I lunged at the closest one. I soared through the air as I tackled it to the ground. I sat on its chest and pressed all of my weight down on its shoulders, keeping the Rinshi prone. Two claw swipes to the face later and the Rinshi was as still as could be.

I leapt from one Rinshi to another taking them down one at a time in a similar matter. My velocity increased with each and every kill. For all intents and purposes, it was like I had become a feral, bloodthirsty predator that drew great satisfaction from each and every kill.

After the Rinshi were disposed of, I cornered Grizzaka. In place of teeth, I now had fangs, and I bared my fangs at my captor as a deep growl emanated from my throat. For every step that I took towards him, he seemed to take two steps backwards until his back was flat against a wall and he could back up no further.

"Such raw power and ferocity you possess. You might just be even more ruthless than me. What a great addition you'd make to my army," Grizzaka said to me.

I leapt through the air, claws extended and aimed for the throat of Grizzaka. I don't know how, but he was able to sidestep me at the last possible moment, and I put a hole in the lair's wall. I started running with one thought in my mind—I needed to get back to the loft.

To Be Continued…


	49. Chapter 49

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**A/N: Thanks to Larissa and Amanda for beta-ing this for me.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_One Moment_

(Lily's POV)

One moment RJ, Theo, and I were brainstorming ways to rescue Casey: the next moment, there was an unexpected visitor right there in the loft with us. We didn't know who or what he was. We didn't even know if the he _was_ a he. All we knew was that he must've used the hole—the one we swing through—to enter the loft. How anything could have a vertical leap so high was mind boggling; it was a two story jump!

This—creature—was unfamiliar to me, yet there was this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I knew the creature before me. I'm not even sure how to describe the creature that was now wildly pacing back and forth in front of the three of us. It looked half-man and half-tiger. Weretiger perhaps?

"Jungle Beast, Spirit—"

"Wait!" I exclaimed, stopping Theo and RJ from morphing.

I slowly walked towards the creature; I didn't want to move too fast out of fear that I would frighten it. As I approached, the creature got down into a crouched position, looking like a cobra, poised to strike its prey.

"Lily, what are you doing? That thing's dangerous!" Theo warned, his voice laden with concern.

"Be careful!" RJ added.

I had my own theory about what or rather _who_ this creature was. Sure, the orange fur with black stripes might be unfamiliar. However, the red training jacket wasn't. I was absolutely certain that this weretiger was Casey.

My heart went out to him. He had to be scared out of his mind over what he had become. I wanted to do nothing more than run over to him and hug him, reassuring him that everything would be okay. It took every bit of self-restraint I had to _not_ do exactly that. From the looks of things, he looked to be ready to strike. Any sudden movement might light the match.

The closer I got, the more my heart raced. I held my hands up in defense showing Casey that I wasn't going to hurt him. What worried me though was that I didn't know how much of the Casey I knew and loved was in this weretiger now. What if he had transformed into an entirely instinctual being? I was shocked that Casey was letting me approach him at all. I thought for sure he would have attacked me by now. This gave me hope that there _was_ some Casey left.

"Casey? It _is_ you, isn't it? What have they done to you? It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. You won't hurt me either. You _can't_ hurt me," I said timidly despite attempting to say it with more conviction.

I was now standing right in front of him. I heard him let out a subdued growl. Maybe that was a warning sign. Perhaps it was out of bravery, perhaps it was out of foolishness, but I reached my hand out to touch him. I kept mentally telling myself that I wasn't afraid of the creature before me, yet my hand couldn't stop shaking.

The next thing I knew, I felt a searing hot pain in my forearm. I instinctively cradled my injury. As I stared at the deep cuts on my forearm that were oozing crimson liquid, the only emotion my mind could register was shock. I couldn't believe Casey attacked me.

What happened next happened so fast. RJ and Theo had morphed and instantly came to my aid. They each had a hold of one of Casey's arms, and were trying with all their might just to restrain him.

"Don't hurt him!" I called out to RJ and Theo.

Casey showed the strength of the tiger as he effortlessly flung Theo and RJ off of him like they were rag dolls. Before I could do anything, he had tackled me to the ground. He had me pinned to the ground and was sitting on top of my chest. I tried in vain to break free from underneath him. There wasn't much I could do. My arms were pinned down too. I couldn't morph even if I wanted to.

Casey lowered his head down to my throat. Just before I squeezed my eyes shut, I caught a glimpse of his sharp fangs looking like small daggers. I waited for the impending pain that was about to come from my throat. Only there wasn't any pain at all, at least not from my neck. My forearm was another story.

"Wolf Beam!"

Several feet away, I heard a loud thud that could only be made by a body hitting the hardwood floor. I could make out the body rolling for a bit before coming to a stop. I didn't need to have my eyes open to know what happened; RJ had saved me.

Now that the danger was over, at least for the time being, I opened my eyes. I was just in time to see Casey quickly scramble to his feet and leap out the hole in the loft's wall. I pushed myself up off the ground, clenching my teeth at the amount of pain that caused my injured forearm.

"Casey, wait!" I called out before I fell back down to one knee, cradling my forearm once more.

"Lily!" RJ and Theo called out; instantly they were at my side.

To Be Continued…


	50. Chapter 50

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 OR just believe that I do not own PRJF and am not making a profit by writing this. It's your choice.**

**A/N: Thanks to my beta readers for their assistance.**

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Another Step_

(Casey's POV)

_Keep running._ It was the only thought I had in my mind. I didn't know why I was running; I didn't know who I was running from; I didn't know where I was running to. All I knew was that I needed to get as far away from the loft and as far away from my friends as possible.

It was frightening how the trees seemed to whir past me as I was running. Was I really running that fast? It seemed like in _whatever_ this form was I could run much faster than a human being. It was almost as though I was running as fast as a tiger itself.

My memories were foggy at best. I wasn't sure exactly what had happened. I had been at the loft, I knew that much. I really had no idea what happened after that, but for some reason, I was running now. So something _bad_ must have happened. The question was what? Why couldn't I remember?

Fatigue was starting to set in. Normally, as a human being at least, the exertion resulted in the form of sweat. However since I was—whatever I was—I found myself panting instead. My longer-than-normal tongue hung out of my mouth, and my breathing became shallower. I had no idea how long I had been running, but apparently it was long enough to get tired.

Finally, I fell to my knees, which I suddenly realized that I had. I held my hands up in front of my face and noticed that they were actually _hands_. They weren't paws anymore, and I couldn't be gladder. From head to toe, my body was coated in a thin film of sweat and small beads of it rolled down my forehead and cheeks.

I wasn't sure what to do now. Out here by myself, I was a sitting duck. Dai Shi or Grizzaka could easily attack me and take me prisoner again—or worse—destroy me. However, I _couldn't_ go back to the loft. Not if my worst fear was true; not if I had really done something…bad.

I was literally in the middle of nowhere. There were no signs of civilization anywhere: the only things that were around me were trees. I was completely out in the wild, in some kind of forest somewhere. I had no idea how to get back even if I _wanted_ to go back.

I removed my training jacket and draped it over a nearby branch. The red t-shirt I was wearing underneath was sopping wet because I was sweating like a pig. It clung to my torso so much that it gave a whole new meaning to the term "skin tight."

I sat on the ground with my back against the bark of a tree. I was too exhausted to do anything at the moment, so I decided to rest awhile. Once I was rested, _then_ I could figure out what to do.

I must have fallen asleep because I was startled awake by the sound of approaching footsteps. Immediately, I thought it was Rinshi or Grizzaka or Dai Shi, or with my luck, all of the above. I decided to go to a more secluded area of the forest. The area I was currently in had too few trees to make for a good hiding place.

I picked a better hiding spot, one just a few more feet away where there were a group of trees. My hand rested on my Solar Morpher, ready to pull it out at a moment's notice. I couldn't see anyone yet, but I could hear whoever it was getting closer. I could also make out some voices.

"Look! It's Casey's jacket! He has to be close!" said a female voice, clearly Lily's.

"Let's just hope that Dai Shi doesn't find him before we do," a male voice commented. That was definitely RJ talking.

I took my hand off the Solar Morpher, and excitedly made my way over to where my friends' voices were coming from. I couldn't wait to _finally_ see some friendly faces.

"Guys, it's okay. I'm right here," I called out.

Soon, I could see them too, but once I did, my smile turned upside down. I had seen the bandage on Lily's forearm that was all-too-visible with her training jacket sleeve rolled up to her elbow.

"Lily, are you okay? Did I—?" I couldn't even bring myself to finish the question. The mere thought of it made me sick to my stomach.

What happened next only made matters worse. Lily unconsciously took a few steps backwards at the same time that RJ and Theo unconsciously took a few steps forward, standing in front of Lily. It was like they were protecting her from me. I guess that answered my unfinished question.

I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. Not only was I a danger to myself, but I was a danger to those around me. If I can harm Lily of all people, then maybe I should just have the others destroy me before I can do anyone else harm.

"We're not going to hurt you Casey," RJ said. It was like he could read my mind. "In fact, we're going to bring in some reinforcements so that if you do—change—again…well let's just say we'll be more equipped to handle the situation."

"Lily, I am so sorry!" I said as I took a step forward and reached out for her hand. I don't know if some sweat got into my eyes or if my eyes were watering or both, but my eyes were stinging.

It took a few seconds, and each one seemed like an hour, but Lily reached out her good arm to take my outstretched hand. Seeing her hesitate hurt me. She gave me a small smile, but I saw something in her eyes. She was doing her best to hide it so that I wouldn't notice, but I still saw it—fear.

"Don't worry Case. We'll find a way to get you back to normal," Lily stated in a voice that was much too timid to be her own.

My relationship with Lily took another step…only backwards instead of forward.

To Be Continued…


	51. Chapter 51

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

**A/N: This takes place around "Path of the Rhino" but keep in mind that this story is kind of AU. **

**The Tiger and the Cheetah**

_Impression_

(Dominic's POV)

I stood outside of a pizza parlor. I pulled out a slip of paper with an address on it double checking that this was the place. I looked up at the sign which read "Jungle Karma Pizza." The address matched, the restaurant name matched, so this _had_ to be the place.

_Only RJ_. I thought to myself. Six years ago, if you were to have asked me what I saw RJ doing in six years, this would not have been what I guessed. Of course, back then, he and I were both students at the Pai Zhuq Academy. I suppose I always envisioned him staying on that sort of path.

I had no idea why RJ asked me to come, but I did know that it sounded important. It had been six years since I last saw him. Somehow, I didn't think he called me just to catch up. No, there was a sense of urgency in his tone of voice. That was unprecedented for RJ. I remembered him to be the calm, cool, and collected type.

Still though, it was nice to feel needed—like I had a purpose. I had been wandering around for six years trying to find a purpose, but I was never able to find one. Maybe now I would have one for the first time in my life. RJ wanted _my_ help. He needed _me_ here.

I went inside. The place wasn't packed with customers, but there were a fair share of customers. The only employee I saw was this girl with pigtails and glasses. I walked over to her.

"Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza. My name is Fran. How may I help you?" she asked.

"Hi, Fran. I'd like to speak to RJ," I answered.

"RJ? Are you a friend of his or something?"

"Yeah, he and I go way back."

"Okay, well wait right here, and I'll go get him."

Fran. That was a nice name. There was something about her. I couldn't quite put my finger on it though. It was almost like I sensed a kindred spirit in her.

"Dominic!" RJ exclaimed, as he pulled me in for a guy hug.

"Hey RJ! How've you been?" I asked.

"I'm doing good. Man, last I heard you were wandering the world like a nomad."

"Yeah, well I'm still trying to find my path."

RJ and I used to go to Pai Zhuq together. He looked the same now as he did back then. He was just as I remembered him. Master Mao would have made me a Master too, but he thought I lacked focus. That was true enough. I didn't like to stay in one place too long. I liked to go places and see things.

"I'm glad to see you, but why did you bring me here? You said it was urgent," I stated.

"Yes, it is. You have the spirit of the rhino—one of the toughest animal spirits there is. I have a feeling we'll need that real soon," RJ answered.

Okay, that wasn't vague or anything. RJ was right though. I did have the spirit of the rhino. It's not that Master Mao chose not to make me Master because I lacked the talent, the ability. On the contrary, I was really good at what I did.

RJ had me follow him to the back kitchen. There was a flight of stairs in the kitchen that led up into a loft where RJ and his cubs lived; only there wasn't anyone there at the moment besides me and RJ.

A little while later, I saw a short Asian boy wearing a blue training jacket enter the loft. Master Swoop was behind him.

Then, I saw a blond girl wearing a yellow training jacket enter the loft with Master Phant in tow.

Finally I saw a tall brunette boy wearing a red training jacket enter the loft. He was accompanied by Master Finn.

We formed a semi-circle of sorts around the boy with the red training jacket. I had no idea what was going on. Nor did I know why he was in the middle of our semi-circle.

"RJ, what's this about?" Master Finn asked his son.

"Ah, yes. Well, we have ourselves a bit of a situation here. You see, Casey here," RJ said motioning toward the boy with the red training jacket. "He is having a problem with his animal spirit."

"What kind of a problem?" Master Swoop asked.

I saw Master Phant and the girl with the yellow training jacket make eye contact. It was like he was telling her 'I'm sorry' through his eyes or something. I wondered what that was about.

"There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. His animal spirit was half extracted. Now, he's half-human and half-tiger."

"Is that even possible?" Master Swoop asked.

"Fascinating. I've never heard anything like this before," Master Phant added.

I've known RJ for a long time. The two of us used to train together at the Pai Zhuq Academy years ago. As ridiculous as the idea of someone being half-human and half-tiger was, I would be foolish to not believe that RJ was telling the truth.

"How can we help?" Master Finn asked.

"The way I see it, the more people around, the more likely we'll be able to contain Casey when he has another…episode…again," RJ answered.

I couldn't help but notice that RJ said _when_ rather than _if_. I guess that answered the question of why RJ asked me for my help. Casey may have the strength of a tiger, but if any animal spirit has a chance of matching a tiger when it comes to power, it's the rhino spirit, my spirit.

It's one thing to _hear_ about a what would it be called, a were-tiger? A part of me though wished I could actually see one. I imagine it's one of those things you'd have to see in order for you to believe. Little did I know that my wish would soon be granted.

The red ranger's body was suddenly racked by spasms. His entire frame was jerking uncontrollably. His hands clutched his temples as he screamed out in anguish. That's when the transformation happened.

Where Casey once stood but a few seconds ago, was now this savage looking animal. It was standing upright, though its body was slightly hunched over. It looked very much like a tiger that was standing on its hind legs. Its claws were extended and it was foaming at the mouth as it bared glistening fangs. Its eyes were rapidly darting between the seven of us, probably trying to decide who to attack first. It let out a ferocious growl. This couldn't be Casey. This thing was much too feral to be.

"Get ready," RJ instructed.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: I know it's been ages since I last updated this. I've had an idea about what I wanted to do in this chapter, it's just I couldn't quite get it just right for my tastes. I still am not completely pleased, but this will have to suffice. Plus, I've been in a bit of a writing slump lately. I've kind of lost my inspiration for writing in general, so now I'm kind of just going through the motions. Thank you for reading. Review if you want to. **


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